Voters heard from mayoral candidates Monday night in Greater Sudbury during a town hall at the Sudbury Indie Cinema. The theatre was packed with about 200 people and the event was livestreamed on Facebook. All eight mayoral candidates were invited, with five attending: Bob Johnston, Paul Lefebvre, Michael McIntosh, Kennan Menard and Rodney Newton. “The candidates showed who they were and what they believe in and stand for,” said Scott Florence with the Sudbury Workers Education and Advocacy Centre, one of the groups to plan the event. “I think a lot of people probably have a lot more information around the candidates and that will help them decide. But we’ve still got another 20 or so days before the end of the campaign. Twenty days in politics is a really long time.” “Tonight was about giving Greater Sudbury residents an opportunity to hear directly from the people asking to lead their city,” moderator Amanda Kingsley-Malo told the crowd. Kingsley-Malo is founder of Politics Now, another organizing group. “We need more geared-to-income housing, low-income housing, etc.,” Johnston said. “We have a lot out there we got to take advantage of before we start spending taxpayers’ money all over. The taxpayers at the seam is ready to bust, and we cannot spend any more money foolishly or on fantasy island projects. It’s got to be working together, building the housing, etc.” “I would like to work with the provincial and federal governments on reducing rent rates, market rents, social housing rent rates,” Menard said. “Just cheaper rents all around cause the rents today are just too high. People are working two, three, four jobs just to make ends meet. That’s not acceptable.” “The price of Sudbury’s rent is ridiculous,” said Newton. “We need to be really looking into that -- how we’re going to do it. I’m not sure right now, but we have quite an issue there. We have to look into bringing the rent down in Sudbury because it is ridiculous for anybody to even survive.” Candidates also fielded questions on transportation and climate action. “By 2035 our whole fleet will be converted to hybrid or all-electric. So that’s a lot of work having to be done,” said Lefebvre, the incumbent mayor. “(The city needs) a lot more charging stations. There’s a lack of that in our city. So focus on basically charging stations for people that have electric vehicles that reduce our carbon footprint.” Longer bus hours “We need to expand bus hours in this city,” McIntosh told the crowd. “The good jobs with low barriers to entry for young people are nursing and trades. Those shifts start often at 6 a.m. -- the bus will not get you there at 6 a.m. The amount of young people I’ve seen have to turn down jobs they’ve got or quit because they can’t afford the car till they get the job -- is honestly heartbreaking.” There was a lightning round, where candidates used paddles to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to questions from the moderator. “Do you support reducing GOVA bus fares? Yes or No?” was one of about a dozen quick questions Kingsley-Malo asked candidates during this portion of the event. “I think everybody got a fair opportunity to showcase themselves and an opportunity to answer some tough questions about what the people of Sudbury want to see in our next four years of elected council,” Florence said. Florence said the large turnout and the questions submitted from the audience show Sudbury voters are interested in municipal issues and democracy.
