Watts didn’t win Liberal debate

Dear Editor: As a member of the BC Liberal Party, and recognizing how we lost so many seats in the premature election last May, I thought perhaps we needed a fresh face as the new leader.

Having received numerous e-mails from the candidates outlining what they hoped to do if elected leader, I thought Dianne Watts might provide a fresh outlook for the party.

As I listened intently to each of the candidates, and particularly to her, I quickly realized that she rarely answered the questions put to her by the moderator, rather going off on a tangent and often critical of the other panelists.

A number of her supporters who’d come up from the Lower Mainland just to demonstrate their support, confirmed my view that she evaded many of the issues that were presented to her. At times, when she was in a oneon-one debate with another candidate, she became quite petulant, and seemed to think that if she shouted louder than the other person, she would be seen as a forceful leader.

I appreciate that individuals may have different responses to how the candidates performed, yet I can’t agree with the assessment by your James Miller, writing in “Editor’s Notebook” (Herald, Dec. 5).

Obviously, Mr. Miller is entitled to his opinion, but I think it is totally inappropriate for his column to be headed in bold print that “Dianne Watts won Round 4.” Bob Mason Kelowna