Council Candidates Take the Stage in Neepawa

About 25 people were in attendance as eight of the nine candidates for Neepawa Town Council gathered to share their platforms and address questions from the public.

The forum was organised by the Neepawa Chamber of Commerce and the evening opened with greetings from president Kerry MacPherson, followed by a short address from Mayor-Elect Brian Hedley, who won his seat by acclamation. Candidates then were given two minutes each to introduce themselves and offer opening comments. Of the eight candidates present, three are running for re-election - Darryl Gerrard, Murray Parrott, and Jason Nadeau - and five are new faces - Dean Dietrich, Brian Elgert, Mary Ann Marquez-Hunstad, Lisa Pottinger, and Yvonne Sisley (Doble). The ninth candidate, Marijka Kostenchuk, sent her regrets along with an opening statement to be read by moderator Amanda Naughton-Gale.

One difference from the forum held four years ago was that all questions had to be sent to the Chamber of Commerce in advance of the forum, and five were selected for the candidates to address with all candidates addressing the same questions. The order in which the candidates addressed each question was randomly chosen by the moderator.

The question topics were, in the order they were asked: affordable housing, post-secondary education access, the future of recreation, sound urban planning, and the disrepair of the town’s streets. As well, the newspaper and television station were permitted one question each to be addressed directly to the candidates. NACTV asked candidates to talk about what their priorities would be over the next four-year term. Candidates had the opportunity to prepare for all questions, as none were taken live.

As the event was a forum and not in a debate format, conduct was largely civil although there was some disagreement between two candidates towards the end of the question period around how the town is handling the street repair situation.

Candidates were all then given one minute each to make closing statements to the public. Following this, Naughton-Gale wrapped up the forum although she took the opportunity to note that issues of such as poverty and food insecurity had not been addressed by the candidates. With a few exceptions, the candidates approached the questions from a position of home-ownership and continuing existing institutions within the town, which does not necessarily reflect the current demographics of the community, a fact which was noted by a few attendees.

The municipal election will be held on October 26, with results available on October 27.