Proposing an All-Candidates Forum for St. George's Ward

That I am aware of, St. George's Ward has not historically had an all-candidates forum leading up to a municipal election. I think it's high time they did.

I sent the following e-mail to my fellow candidates in the ward to suggest and invite them to participate in an all-candidates forum.

As far as I can tell, there is no particularly valid reason for them to decline as it is just one more opportunity for them (as well as me) to promote themselves and tell the people of St. George's Ward why they deserve the job as councillor.

I will keep you posted...

The e-mail:

Laura Ip to dalemillar, jsecord01, gwashuta
show details 5:24 PM (2 minutes ago)

Hello, gentlemen

As we are now in high-gear for the upcoming municipal election, I wanted to make a suggestion...

I am not aware of St. George's ward having had an all-candidates forum in the past, so I would like to propose that we have one. This is not intended to be a debate, but rather a forum during which an indepedent party poses a few questions, and we each take time-limited turns answering them.

The cost to rent the gymnasium for thee hours (to allow for set-up and the forum itself) is $135.60 ($120 + HST). I figured that we could split this cost equally four ways for a total of $33.90 each. As you know, this is a drop in the bucket in comparison to many of our other campaign costs.

The only other cost, which I am still researching would be the cost of some audio equipment. I will advise of this cost as soon as I have the information. Again, though, I expect it to be minimal in comparison to our other expenses.

Due to the limited availability of the Queen Elizabeth Centre, I have scheduled the evening to take place on Thursday, October 14, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., though we would need to arrive early to all assist in the set-up of chairs and a few tables for the front.

Additionally, I have a request in to the St. Catharines Standard to moderate the forum, and we will also look to them to cover it. We can advertise the forum through many venues at no charge.

Please advise if you will attend and share in the costs, so that we can begin advertising the forum immediately.

The people who will be responsible for electing two of us deserve opportunity to hear us speak and ask us questions.

Kindest regards and best of luck with your respective campaigns,
Laura Ip