Are public debates a thing of the past? Time will tell.
For at least the past 24 years (as long as I’ve been at the Library) Barrhead has long enjoyed an “All Candidates Forum” in advance of all federal and provincial and municipal elections. The Library has been part of organizing these public discussions along with the Chamber of Commerce and the Leader newspaper. Even during COVID’s lockdown we used social media to present an online information session for prospective voters and all the candidates.
But a “new” campaign strategy is being used by some and that is a strategy of isolation.
Some campaigns let us know they are investing their campaign efforts in another community and so wont be participating in events near our community, after weeks of silence. This put a halt to our plan for an “all candidates open forum” and we immediately moved to cancel the event and let people know. We received this information three days before the event.
While it was too late to announce it in the Leader newspaper, we did use social media to spread the news.
The serendipity in all this was that despite our best efforts to let everyone know, 20 people showed up and we were prepared with coffee and doughnuts. Two candidates from other parties dropped by and stayed to answer questions. It was an old fashioned “meet and greet” on the street.
We had already received lots of questions for he debate and more are still coming in. We are forwarding them on to each candidate to answer (or not!) in their own time.
Good luck to each candidate – and in one of our best Canadian traditions, may you always be available to your community.
Elaine Dickie
Barrhead Public Library library director
