Welland mayor’s race needs to focus on issues, not feud, says jilted candidate
Steven Soos wants one-on-one debate with incumbent Frank Campion
Steven Soos says he’ll continue to rise above the personal feud between his two fellow mayoral candidates in the race for Welland’s top elected job.
“It has become a rivalry and the focus has been on (Mayor Frank) Campion and (David) Clow when the conversation should be about the people of Welland,” the 24-year-old said Thursday.
Soos made the comments after The Tribune learned of a Ward 4 meet and greet that included all three mayoral candidates Wednesday put on by the Highlands Residents Association at Hunters Pointe.
Soos — with his platform of smart growth on the canal lands, investment in infrastructure and getting the city’s finances in order — said the people of the Rose City deserve better than a feud.
“They deserve representation and that’s what I bring to the table … someone who represents the interests of the taxpayer. I’m not involving myself in their fight.”
Soos, who launched his mayoral campaign at Hunters Pointe, said he still wants to do head-tohead with Campion.
“I am challenging the mayor to a one-on-one debate … at a time and place of his choosing. He has run away from both media debates to avoid the taxpayers of Welland. It’s time for him to face the people and stop hiding behind his position.”
Campion agreed any debate should be about issues and what candidates are trying to do for the community and how best they will do that.
“It should be about the need to create jobs, get investment and reducing the tax burden on the residential side. That’s what people want to hear.”
The mayor said residents don’t want to hear candidates drag each other through the mud.
Wednesday’s meet and greet lasted nearly three hours with some 200 people in attendance listening not only to the mayoral candidates but the six Ward 4 candidates as well.
Clow said the event was to talk about the “the disastrous redevelopment plans the city and developers have” for the Hunters Pointe area.
In a Facebook post, Clow said he kept his cool “while Mayor Campion lost his and yelled over my microphone repeatedly.”
Clow recorded the first 30 minutes and said the mayor’s outburst was in the last 30 minutes.
“At least twice, he yelled over my mic in front of what had to be around 200 people in attendance. I am elated that I had the opportunity to show people publicly the two things that I have been saying repeatedly: that I was extremely polite and well behaved with Mayor Campion as I always am, and that it is just the content of my educated questions that lead to his emotional outbursts, not mine,” Clow said in an email interview.
Campion said he didn’t yell or scream during the event.
“What I did do was speak over him when he was telling lies, correcting him,” said Campion.
He said Clow constantly makes reference to issues at city council, Niagara Region and Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority that misrepresent the facts.
“The question about the Ombudsman’s report came up Wednesday night,” said Campion, in reference to a report that found the city contravened the Municipal Act when it behind closed doors to replace a Ward 5 councillor.
Campion said the city checked with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the ministry that writes and interprets legislation concerning the Municipal Act, before it went behind closed doors.
“They said we were OK with proceeding behind closed doors … and then there was a complaint. The Ombudsman didn’t agree with the ministry. We were willing to accept its findings,” the mayor said.
Campion said voting records at NPCA will show he voted against suing Niagara activist Ed Smith and that he was also opposed to sanctioning former member and sitting Lincoln regional councillor Bill Hodgson.
Clow, Campion said, constantly paints him as someone who did the opposite of what’s on record.
The mayor said he doesn’t want to spend all his time in a debate forced to defend things when there are documented votes on what he did.
Clow, like Soos, still feels a full debate is needed.
“This community deserves the opportunity to hear the questions that I have for the mayor. I deserve an opportunity to speak in my own defence after he has attempted to discredit me repeatedly,” he said.