Candidates Answer Questions

by Phil Birchard Bayshore Broadcasting September 23 2010
Collingwood — It was a night full of cheers, laughs, and some harsh words at the All Candidates meeting in Collingwood on Wednesday night. It was standing room only, with some people even outside the Legion, straining to hear what the prospective councillors had to say.
At the evening session, the question period started with a request that the candidates for mayor and deputy mayor outline what they thing the main issue for this election is.
Most candidates, including mayoral candidates Kathy Jeffery, Sandra Cooper, said that jobs are the most important focus.
Deputy mayor candidate Norman Sandberg said council needs to continue with the economic recovery, while his competitor Rick Lloyd says we need to be concerned about the debt, and its effect on taxpayers.
But another question had the candidates answering how they will make council work better this year — as people believe this past council hasn’t worked as well together as others.
Mayoral candidate Sandra Cooper told the audience that she will have a different type of leadership than the past council, and that there must be a level of respect for each others opinions.
Her opponent Kathy Jeffery agreed, with fellow mayoral candidate Mike Young saying that this council got started wrong, and that problem was never mended. 
Deputy mayor candidate Norman Sandberg said that 1 person doesn’t ever have all the answers, and all members of council bring valuable information to the table.
The candidates were also all asked their position on patios in town, with a big reaction from the crowd after every answer.
Kathy Jeffery said that she would be in support of establishing a process to see what’s best for the downtown, saying that she voted for patios curbside because that was her belief.
Sandra Cooper, meanwhile, felt the patios should be against the buildings, and fellow mayoral candidate Mike Young said that they should be wherever restaurant owners want them to be.
Deputy mayor candidate Norm Sandberg came out on the attack, saying that Rick Lloyd told him that he was all for having patios curbside, but that he changed his mind as soon as it was election time.
Lloyd told the audience before that accusation that he thought patios should be next to the building.
During the course of the question and answer period, there were numerous times where many of the candidates for mayor couldn’t answer questions because they didn’t know the situation.
Those instances involved Simcoe County Council issues, as well as development in town, and growth both in Collingwood, and in Simcoe County.