If you’re interested in local politics (and, quite frankly, you should be) you’ll have plenty of opportunities to feed your habit during the next three weeks.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, Clearwater and District Chamber of Commerce (with some help from the Times) will host an all candidates’ forum for District of Clearwater hopefuls in the Pit at Clearwater Secondary School. The 10 candidates seeking the six seats on town council will get a chance to show their stuff (one candidate, Stephanie Teare, has withdrawn due to personal reasons).
Their game of musical chairs will be followed by the main match on the card: Mayor John Harwood vs. challenger Bert Walker. They are both formidable debaters. It should be interesting.
Then on Monday, Nov. 7, the Times is helping organize an all-candidates’ forum at the community hall in Blue River. Willow MacDonald of Janie’s General Store will take on incumbent Max Lentz to be Thompson-Nicola Regional District director for Thompson Headwaters (Area B - Blue River and Avola).
The feeling seems to be that Lentz has been generally doing a good job but suffers because he lives in Kamloops and so has difficulty establishing connections with the people he is supposed to represent. Will MacDonald be able to capitalize on that dissatisfaction?
As if that weren’t enough, on Wednesday, Nov. 9, there will be an all candidates’ forum at Vavenby Community Hall.
The battle there will be between Tim Pennell, the incumbent TNRD director for Wells Gray Country (Area A - Vavenby, Birch Island, Blackpool, East Blackpool and Upper Clearwater) and challenger Cheryl Thomas.
Most think that Pennell has been an effective director and he has found a fair amount of money for projects such as improvements to the Blackpool and Upper Clearwater halls (“I wanted to put the community back in community hall,” he says). Thomas lives in Clearwater and not Wells Gray Country, but is involved in numerous committees and organizations and so has many friends and contacts who could get the vote out for her.
The forums in Clearwater, Blue River and Vavenby will start at 7 p.m.
Incidentally, the Times took a role in organizing the Wells Gray Country forum as well as the other two. There had been some talk about holding forums in all three community halls in Area A - Vavenby, Blackpool and Upper Clearwater, but the two of the three nights that were available on the two candidates’ schedules wouldn’t work for the newspaper. We therefore decided to stick with Vavenby as the largest community in Wells Gray Country. Our apologies to those who either will have to miss the forum or travel a long distance to participate.
Please get out and vote. Advance polls will be on Nov. 9 and Election Day will be on Nov. 19.