Softball questions, hardball reactions
While there wasn’t a knockout punch everyone was hoping for, candidates were still able to throw the odd jab. A crowd of more than 450 citizens attended the Herald’s mayoral all-candidates forum Wednesday at the Penticton Lakeside Resort.
Candidates Andrew Jakubeit and Jukka Laurio addressed their records in their opening remarks, with Jakubeit commenting on how his “biggest regret is how (the city) handled Skaha Park,” while Laurio told the crowd that yes, he illegally sold marijuana from his business.
“I’m going to lay that to rest now and finalize this . . . 45 years ago, I made a choice. I made a decision. I decided to pick a side. I picked the pro-marijuana side. I’m proud that I was an active, vocal, outspoken member of the pro-marijuana side," Laurio said to a murmuring crowd.
He continued by dubbing himself a “freedom fighter” for the cause to let people live their lives how they want, and how he wears a “badge of honour” for paying $13,600 of his infamous $15,000 fine.
It was a tune-up for aggressive questioning from the media panel, which consisted of Joe Fries and Melanie Eksal from the Herald and Chris Walker, host of the CBC Radio program Daybreak South.
“Mr. (Jason) Cox,” Vassilaki started when given an opportunity for candidates to ask questions of one another, “in my recollection you presented to council suggesting that they ignore the community feedback and continue with the projectization of Skaha Park. How will we know that you won’t continue to ignore public input in the future?”
Cox replied that at the time, it could not be predicted how “badly the ball would be dropped,” and that all that had been known was that the marina required improvement, an issue that he claims still needs to be addressed today.
“I would actually also point out, Mr. Vassilaki, that you were on the council on Sept. 16, 2014, that approved the original deal with Trio,” Cox fired back.
“My worry is that it’s going to be your way, or the highway,” Vassilaki retorted after adding that he had heard that Cox would seek to run council in a way that suits him.
Asking a more softball question that garnered a hardball reaction from the crowd, Laurio asked Jakubeit to elaborate on what he considered his biggest accomplishment for the city.
“Financially, the biggest impact was actually keeping the casino here in Penticton,” Jakubeit responded, which drew a disappointed noise from the crowd.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that you think you accomplished something,” Laurio quipped.
Cox was also asked, by Fries, why he chooses to live in Naramata, yet run for mayor in Penticton.
“Anyone who knows me in the community knows that I’ve built my life here. I’ve been here for 15 years — 12 of those years I was in Penticton. I own a business in Penticton . . . everything I do is for Penticton. This is a community I love,” he said.
He acknowledged that he does live outside city boundaries, which he claimed is only 10 minutes down the road in the “wilderness.”
Candidate James Blake spent his opportunities speaking about the current homeless population, but also about the arts and a vibrant community. He attributed his knowledge and dedication to helping the housing crisis in Penticton from his own personal experience of being homeless.
“Within a matter of weeks (of being homeless), people go ahead and get in a dark situation,” he said. “And it’s going to take resources to pull us out of it, but I think it can be done.”
With the philosophy that the first step is to house everyone and remain a “family,” Blake remained confident that if there posed a risk of overflow, he would quickly expand to keep a roof over every citizen’s head.
But, for Vassilaki, his platform would see that any available surplus land in the city be available for lease to further expand industrialism in the area to promote job openings.
“The future of our industry is across the river,” Vassilaki stressed, also saying that Penticton needed to begin negotiations with the Penticton Indian Band in order to have more access to land.
When the media panel asked Vassilaki for his opinion on voters’ concerns about his time in office bringing Penticton back to the “dark ages” with low taxes, no investments and no infrastructure improvements, Vassilaki responded heatedly.
“Haven’t you seen all the development I’ve got going on? Improving old buildings, making them like palaces . . . and real affordable housing downtown, (plus) commercial affordable spots in the downtown core.”
Candidate Dominic Wheeler mentioned that while he may not be up to speed due to his years spent as a taxi driver, he’s a fast learner and would devote his time to being mayor as it would be the only job he would have. The tourism industry is one focus that he would take on.
“People don’t feel like they can come here and have fun anymore,” he said. “There’s nothing for children, there’s nothing for teenagers. Who else is going to come?”
During a series of three snapper questions to conclude the evening, all six candidates unanimously agreed they would not accept dental and extended medical benefits if elected, they would fight against commercialization of public parks, and they don’t agree with spending $1,400 on a going-away party for a retiring CAO.
Audio of the meeting can be found online at: www.peachcityradio.org. Coverage of Thursday’s city councillor forum will appear in The Okanagan Weekend.