91原创 Township鈥檚 mayoral candidates fielded questions about development, taxes, roads, and the question of political slates at Monday night鈥檚 all-candidates meeting at the 91原创 Events Centre.
Organized by the Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, the meeting had a new format that saw councillors take questions in several groups, with the four candidates for mayor having the stage to themselves at the end of the evening.
The first question set many of the themes for the evening, as moderator and chamber CEO Cory Redekop asked how the candidates 鈥� former MLA Rich Coleman leading the Elevate 91原创 slate, former councillor Michelle Sparrow, Councillor Blair Whitmarsh, and Coun. Eric Woodward, who heads up the Contract with 91原创 slate 鈥� thought the Township was managing its rapid growth and development.
Whitmarsh acknowledged the challenges of growth, saying the council has tried to make good decisions.
鈥淏ut I don鈥檛 think we鈥檝e been able to keep up with the pace of development,鈥� he said.
The Township is at a place where development doesn鈥檛 pay for itself, and infrastructure can鈥檛 keep up, he said.
鈥淚 think we can manage the infrastructure needs in a better way as we move forward, and we need to do that.鈥�
Woodward said the Township isn鈥檛 doing a good job managing its growth at all.
鈥淲e have a pretty clear status quo problem in the Township of 91原创,鈥� he said.
He pointed to soccer fields, ice rinks, and community centres as being needed, and said opportunities to do more were being lost or delayed at the council table. The Township wasn鈥檛 getting a 鈥渇air deal鈥� from developers that other communities in the region do, he said.
鈥淚f we don鈥檛 get a fair deal like that in place, we鈥檙e going to be paying the bill down the road,鈥� he said, asking voters to put his Contract with 91原创 slate in place.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think everything鈥檚 bad here, I really don鈥檛,鈥� said Coleman.
He also issued a warning about putting infrastructure first, before development.
鈥淚 remember the 1970s, when the Township of 91原创 went ahead and put in all the services, sidewalks, and curbs in Walnut Grove and nobody came to build. And our community almost went broke.鈥�
Building walkable communities is key, Coleman said.
鈥淭here are some things you can always do better, particularly on the road infrastructure,鈥� he said.
Sparrow echoed the idea common to all candidates that more infrastructure is needed, and said when she was on council previously, she put forward a plan to collect community amenity charges (CACs) from developers. A CAC policy was adopted in the most recent term.
鈥淭he policy that has currently been approved by this council is watered down, and doesn鈥檛 address the actual funding needs that our community has,鈥� Sparrow said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need to reinvent the wheel, there are many communities that are getting it right,鈥� she added.
Independents Whitmarsh and Sparrow both advised voters against picking slate candidates. It鈥檚 been more than 20 years since a slate held a majority at 91原创 Township council.
鈥淚鈥檓 running because I think council needs to be of independent thinkers, or independent minds,鈥� said Whitmarsh.
Sparrow called a move towards slates a shift away from what makes local government special.
鈥淭he true power should be in the hands of the voters,鈥� she said.
Woodward argued for his Contract with 91原创 team, saying it was 鈥渋mpossible鈥� to promise to get anything done with a collection of independents. He said the current council loses opportunities because it comes with nine competing agendas.
鈥淪ometimes 10, because they change their minds,鈥� he added.
Coleman touted his ability to work with multiple groups and people.
鈥淚 have a record of being able to get things done 鈥� you鈥檙e sitting in one of them now, the 91原创 Events Centre,鈥� Coleman told the crowd.
He added that every member of his Elevate 91原创 team had been told that they would always have 鈥渁 free vote.鈥�
Although the candidates were usually fielding questions rather than debating directly back and forth, they did respond to each other鈥檚 comments several times.
After Coleman鈥檚 comments that he didn鈥檛 think 鈥渆verything鈥檚 bad here,鈥� Woodward responded in a later comment, saying 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 mean everything鈥檚 bad, it means things could be a lot better, and we鈥檙e running to change it.鈥�
Coleman in turn used Woodward鈥檚 comments about a need for ice rinks and soccer fields as a springboard to talk about smaller-scale infrastructure, such as pickleball courts, dancing, music, tennis, trails, and girls softball.
鈥淲e have to plan for that too,鈥� he said.
The municipal election takes place on Oct. 15, with a week of advance voting in various communities around the Township before that.
READ MORE: When and where to cast your ballot: voting days and locations in 91原创
READ MORE: Election 2022
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