Watts did not win leadership debate

Dear Editor: As a member of the B.C. Liberal Party, and recognizing how we lost so many seats in the premature election last May, I thought that, 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 the fresh a new outlook for the party. I am impressed that she immediately resigned her federal seat as a Conservative to devote the next months on the campaign trail, hoping to be elected by party members in February next year.

Our Kelowna West candidate, Ben Stewart, graciously hosted a social evening at his Quails Gate Winery the night before the Kelowna debate and the candidates for the leadership were all present. I made a point of speaking at some length with Dianne, and was sufficiently impressed that at the debate, I wore one of her pins.

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 one-on-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” (Daily Courier, Dec. 4). I think she was less organized than the others and that’s possibly why she evaded the issues so often.

I also do not think she was being picked on because she was an outsider, in fact, she reported on her having lived for many years in Kelowna and did high school and college education in town.

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 .” Had a vote of those in attendance been taken immediately following the debate, I am confident that the vast majority would have considered one of the other candidates to have won. Bob Mason

Kelowna