BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following, from Rev. Susan Eagle, is in response to 'LETTER: Value of issue-driven debates debatable,' published May 24.
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I want to thank Mr. Lewis for responding to the concern about elected representatives, such as Doug Downey, declining to attend all-candidate meetings. Mr. Lewis, as a former Progressive Conservative MP, makes it clear that he considers all-candidate meetings a waste of time.
As someone who has been part of organizing all-candidate meetings at the municipal, provincial and federal levels for several years, I am saddened to hear Mr. Lewis’s distain for such an important part of the democratic process.
I believe that elected leaders have a responsibility to be accountable to their constituents. As a constituent, I want more than a self-congratulatory PR pamphlet delivered to my home from time to time on behalf of my elected representative.
An election is a time to hear from elected representatives and to listen as they engage with other candidates about party priorities and emerging issues.
Yes, Mr. Lewis is right – it takes some time to prepare for a discussion – less, however if the representative is already elected for that riding and, therefore, hopefully up to speed on local issues.
Mr. Lewis makes a distinction between types of all-candidate meetings suggesting that the chamber of commerce offers “issue-neutral” gatherings and all others are “issue-driven.”
I can assure Mr. Lewis, as a former municipal councillor for 13 years in the city of London, that chambers of commerce do not offer “issue-neutral” gatherings, but perhaps gatherings where Mr. Lewis felt more comfortable.
All all-candidate meetings are “issue-driven” as constituents are interested in knowing where candidates stand on the “issues” that concern them as voters.
Mr. Lewis suggests that community-based all-candidate meetings are organized on short notice and narrowly focused on a few issues.
At Grace United Church, our history has been to host meetings and invite diverse community organizations to partner together about issues of concern to the local community.
Case in point, the recent all-candidates meeting, held on May 11 at Grace United Church in Barrie, brought together six community organizations to look at issues as diverse as income security, housing, environment, and agriculture.
There was also an opportunity for those in attendance to submit questions as well. Live-streaming of the event gave even more voters an opportunity to hear what candidates had to say.
As to short notice, the invitation to Mr. Downey was emailed to his campaign office on April 20, long before the writ was dropped on May 3. It took until April 26 for a response that apologized for the delay and said simply: “Unfortunately MPP Downey will be unable to attend.”
We were pleased that the other candidates who received their invitation at the same time were in attendance and willing to come prepared and to engage with the voters of the riding.
Mr. Lewis suggests that the focus of an election is to do as much door-to-door canvassing as possible and to meet voters to “try to influence their vote.” Four years ago, when Mr. Downey was seeking election for the first time, he attended the Grace all-candidates meeting to challenge the existing provincial government and offer his alternative vision.
One can only wonder why now he does not want to be accountable for his term in office. Democracy is not something we should take for granted and elections are not something elected representatives should take for granted.
We need the due diligence and accountability that an election offers so that we, as voters, can identify and support the best representatives.
I am disappointed to see Mr. Downey, supported by another PC formerly elected representative, avoid public scrutiny and sidestep accountability to his electorate.
Rev. Susan Eagle
Barrie
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