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Mayor, incumbent councillors skip Oro-Medonte candidates forum

Not attending event 'reflects badly' on candidates, says administrator of group that organized forum; Hughes says going door-to-door is a better approach
oro medonte council feb 2020
Oro-Medonte Township council meets virtually during this term. | Screenshot

Several current members of Oro-Medonte council, including Mayor Harry Hughes, were absent from a meet-the-candidates forum held at the Oro-Medonte Community Arena in Guthrie on Tuesday evening.

Organized by Engaging Residents of Oro-Medonte (EROM), the event was the first of two forums planned by the group in the lead-up to the Oct. 24 municipal election.

Tuesday’s forum was for mayoral candidates, and council candidates for Wards 1, 2 and 6.

The next event, beginning at 7 p.m. at The Heights Ski and Country Club on Sept. 15, will feature mayoral candidates, and council candidates for Wards 3, 4 and 5.

Following introductory remarks, candidates answered two prearranged questions, followed by questions submitted by members of the public.

“These are open forums where the candidates have an opportunity to meet with their potential constituents in the future. We believe … that council members need to be engaged with their constituents,” EROM administrator Linda Myles said. “This is a prime example of how you can dialogue with your constituents.”

Among the candidates who chose to skip the event were incumbent councillors Shawn Scott (Ward 4), Cathy Keane (Ward 3), Hughes, and Ward 5 hopeful Rick Schell.

Ward 2 Coun. Tammy DeSousa has said she will not be attending Thursday’s event, Myles said.

“Some of the questions that were asked last evening were directed at the incumbents, and they were not there to answer the questions,” Myles said. “Those constituents did not have their questions answered, and that, to me, reflects badly on the people who chose not to attend.”

Invitations to the two events were extended to all candidates, she said.

The event was split into two evenings to allow for adequate time and to find venues near the candidates’ wards.

Hughes said it is common for political candidates to focus their efforts on door-to-door campaigning, and noted some residents may be “reluctant” to speak at forums or debates.

“All of us know that where we really want to engage the public is at the door,” Hughes said. “We have an opportunity to talk to individuals face to face and there’s a fair amount of time and effort getting around the township and speaking to people directly, and that’s just where we put our priority.”

He also said it is easy for questions to focus heavily on the mayoral candidates.

“Any decision that is made on council is made on the wisdom of the councillors that are elected, and so there’s a tendency, very often, to have a focus on the mayor when, in fact, the councillors are significant,” he said. “If the (mayoral candidates) were in attendance … there may be less time devoted to the councillors.”

However, Hughes said he will attend the debates organized by the Oro-Medonte Chamber of Commerce.

“From what I understand, all of the current council members who didn’t attend the EROM ones will be at the chamber meeting,” he said.

EROM began as a Facebook group in January for Oro-Medonte residents to discuss local matters. It has more than 370 members.

In July, the group began publishing and distributing an e-newsletter.

“We are committed to getting information about the township out to as many people in the township as possible, whether it is the challenges that the township is facing, or whether it is a good news story about someone who has received an award,” Myles said. “We try really hard to make sure that the information that we're publishing is evidence-based and that it is verifiable.”

With the municipal election on the horizon, much of EROM’s e-newsletter is dedicated to local politics.

“We publish information about events in the community. We publish information about the election,” Myles said. “We have offered to all candidates to submit 300 words for publication in our e-news about themselves and their platform … It’s all volunteer, just people in the community that are interested in participating.”


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Greg McGrath-Goudie

About the Author: Greg McGrath-Goudie

Greg has been with Village Media since 2021, where he has worked as an LJI reporter for CollingwoodToday, and now as a city hall/general assignment reporter for OrilliaMatters
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