The town of Battleford had its all candidates forum Wednesday at Fort Battleford, with the major announcement that the race was dropping from an eight-way to a seven-way race.
Amber Nelson wrote a statement to be read at the forum, explaining that she was withdrawing from the election because of "circumstances beyond [her] control." Nelson's name will still appear on the ballot, but she will not campaign and can be considered out of the race.
Shelley Boutin-Gervais was also unable to attend the event, though she is still running. Pat Smith, the MC for the night, read her prepared statements for the crowd.
Though candidates largely regarded outgoing mayor Chris Odishaw's term with adulation, praising his vision, ambition and the growth he brought, Al Blais distinguished himself by delivering the opposite message. He stated that the quality of life had "deteriorated" in the last few years and criticized the outgoing council for its "discriminatory tax system."
Blais also criticized the highway twinning project, and the placing of some of the town's fourplexes. Blais attitude earned him the last question of the night, where he was asked if he was campaigning "against growth," a claim that Blais denied. Blais argued he was against government-subsidized growth and was more concerned with where growth would occur than whether it did.
Other councillors were extremely positive about the record of the outgoing council, stressing Battleford's population, the highway twinning project, the Opera House project, Bridgefest and the water treatment plant as examples.
Outgoing councillor Donna Lavin's remarks about the viciousness of politics became the subject of the first question of the night. Councillors did what they could to distance themselves from the remark, describing politics variously as "honourable" (Gordon Yarde) or comparing the job of a politician to the job of a referee (David George).
With the exception of Blais, councillors agreed on most questions, stressing the importance of seeking funding from all levels of government for infrastructure projects, the value of a dog park and the importance of further economic development.
The spectre of amalgamation was raised only briefly, as Gordon Yarde stated he opposed it in response to a question about the importance of the relationship between North Battleford and Battleford.
For their closing statements, candidates deviated from their usual remarks to focus on what they considered most important. Gordon Yarde stressed the importance of a council working together as a team. Susan McLean-Tady argued for continuity on council, arguing that it is "our time" in Saskatchewan.
In Ames Leslie's closing statements, he stressed the good work of the previous council and stated that power outages were at the top of his priority list, a topic that had not been brought up previously. Doug Laing argued his main motivation for seeking political office was to give back, and make sure that the community's growth continued.
David George argued that the job of councillors is to maintain the community, stressing the importance of proper road maintenance.
Al Blais, who gave his closing remarks last, said that he hoped he didn't come across as not supporting development, stressing he was only against development if it came at the expense of taxpayer dollars.
The event was attended by around two dozen people, including MLA Herb Cox, current North Battleford councillors Ron Crush and Brad Pattinson and outgoing mayor Chris Odishaw.
