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Callander man frustrated by lack of mayoralty debate

Perrin says he is not only willing to organize the debate at the legion Hall, but pay for any costs associated with it
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Callander resident and businessman Andrew Perrin says he is "very frustrated" in attempts to get a mayoral candidate debate in his community.

"I've made numerous attempts both in writing and in person and I'm dismissed as a non-entity it seems."

Perrin says a meet and greet has been held at the community centre and a TV debate held with no audience to question the three candidates. But he wonders why a true public debate is being avoided. He says neither councillor Daryl Vaillancourt nor Mayor Robb Noon is willing to participate, leaving Gay Smylie as the only participant to agree.

He says his persistence has led both Vaillancourt and Noon to block him from their Facebook pages.

Perrin has been in business in Callander for 15 years now and has seen his legal company grow from two lawyers to six, plus all the support staff, and believes the public is owed an open discussion of the issues. He suspects the lack of cooperation is because neither of them is qualified to do the job.

"They can't risk being asked questions about their qualifications. Vaillancourt sat on a North Bay council that was an unmitigated disaster and now he wants to come down here."

Perrin says he is not only willing to organize the debate at the Legion Hall but pay for any costs associated with it. He pledges to bring in an impartial moderator and ensure there would be no questions that attack the candidates.

"Everyone in attendance will show decorum and respect but at the same time answer the tough questions that, in my view, these politicians have not been willing to answer," he explained.

"My family goes back a long way in this community so I don't know where they get the audacity to not be as committed to this as I am."

Meanwhile, contacted by BayToday, Noon said, "I have already done a meet the candidates night, as well as a mayoral debate on Cogeco. I think we had the opportunity to address our platforms and debate the community's questions already, so with less than a week to go before the election I don't believe another debate is necessary at this time."

Vaillancourt wrote by email, "I responded to Mr. Perrin on several occasions. It's my understanding it never came to fruition."

Those explanations don't fly with Perrin.

"That is not true, although he (Vaillancourt) did respond with 'I’ll consider it once I know the rules' and 'once I know who will moderate.' Thereafter nothing. It never came to fruition because nobody other than Smylie would commit and it would have been a lot of time and energy and money to prepare only to find out they were a no-show. He did not agree to attend," said Perrin.

For her part, Smylie told BayToday, "I threw my hat into the mayoral race for one reason only; to offer the residents of Callander the choice of a solid mayoral candidate that has real experience and leadership skills to move Callander into the future. An open debate would be a wonderful opportunity for constituents to gain clarity from their mayoral candidates on their past actions and decisions as well as their credentials and suitability to become Callander's next mayor. For instance, my opponent Mr. Vaillancourt frequently flaunts his past experience on North Bay City Council. The Callander electorate has a right to know exactly what his accomplishments were during that time. An open debate would provide this opportunity."


Jeff Turl

About the Author: Jeff Turl

Jeff is a veteran of the news biz. He's spent a lengthy career in TV, radio, print and online, covering both news and sports. He enjoys free time riding motorcycles and spoiling grandchildren.
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