AWARE survey rejected

AWARE survey rejected
By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE PACKET & TIMES October 1 2010
The majority of municipal election candidates in Oro-Medonte Township have refused to take part in a survey crafted by a citizens’ group. By NATHAN TAYLOR, THE ORILLIA PACKET & TIMES oCTOBER 1 2010
The Oro-Medonte chapter of AWARE Simcoe (Action Watch Affecting Residents Everywhere) — a group that formed ahead of the election to encourage government accountability and environmental sustainability — not only put together surveys, but also hoped to interview candidates.
Six of the 14 candidates responded, and only one was an incumbent — Ward 3 Coun. Sandy Agnew, who is running for deputy mayor.
“What bothered us the most is not that they didn’t want to partake in our process, but that there was total silence. They didn’t even respond,” said Ann Truyens, a member of AWARE Simcoe’s board of directors.
When AWARE members followed up with phone calls to make sure the candidates received the questionnaires, some indicated they did get them, “but mostly what they said was that it was a trap and that we had already decided who we were going to support,” Truyens said.
Some candidates who did respond, including Gordon Roehner, Joannie Spence and Marty Lancaster, were involved with AWARE, Truyens acknowledged, but added they are no longer allowed to attend AWARE meetings since announcing their candidacies.
Although Mayor Harry Hughes has no competition for his seat and has therefore been acclaimed, he took issue with the survey and questioned the group’s claim of being “non-partisan.”
“They didn’t make any guarantees as to whether they would take things out of context,” Hughes said.
Hughes, who has a master’s degree in measurements and evaluation — a field that includes conducting surveys — filled out a survey by Environmental Defence, which “guaranteed what they published would be unedited.”
“With that criteria set up, I had no problem filling it out,” he said.
He also objected to the inter-v iew portion of AWARE’s process, as it was unclear who would be conducting the interviews and what their credentials were.
“Anyone who would do that would be taking a great risk,” he said, noting the interviews were to take place behind closed doors — something he felt went against AWARE’s mandate to promote transparency.
Truyens said candidates would have been allowed to bring people to sit in on the interviews.
“Why didn’t they get back to us and ask?” she said. “We would’ve told them gladly. We’re not hiding anything.”
But Hughes took issue with more than just the survey and interview process. He said AWARE’s website contains “more opinion than facts” and suggested the group already knew who it would support.
“It was obvious from the beginning that the Oro- Medonte branch of AWARE knew which candidates they were going to support,” he said.
Truyens said that statement “is a lie.”
“There was never any indication of that. He’s making an assumption,” she said.
AWARE will complete summaries based on the information gleaned from the surveys and interviews, and that’s how it will decide what candidates will best represent “what we’re about.”
The results are not yet available, but Truyens said to keep checking the group’s website, www.aware-simcoew.ca/
AWARE has chapters in different parts of Simcoe County. Countywide, there seems to be a trend of current council members snubbing the survey, Truyens said.
“It seems like the incumbents are very reluctant to take part in the process, and that is because it’s the incumbents that we have the problems with,” she said. “They don’t like us. They don’t like what we’re doing because we’re upsetting the apple carts and we’re upsetting the status quo that they’ve enjoyed.”
When the Oct. 25 election is over, AWARE will remain, she added.
“We’re going to set up watchdog groups for every council in Simcoe County as well as at the county (council),” she said. “We’re going to be a presence from now on. We’re not going away.”