Two different approaches, one common goal
Peterborough voters will make a choice Oct. 22 between two very different mayoral candidates.
With only two people in the race, voters are in a one-or-the-other situation. For many, it will be a simple choice, as the candidates are very different and no doubt appeal to people with established political views and a certain set of expectations for the city’s mayor.
Daryl Bennett is right-leaning, business-minded, and traditional. Diane Therrien comes in from the left, with a focus on social justice and community-building. They've made their positions clear on most civic issues over their terms in office (Bennett as a two-term mayor, Therrien as a Town Ward councillors since 2014).
Many people have already decided who'll get their vote Oct. 22. There are voters who are firm on Bennett, voters who are locked on Therrien – a result of the polarization of partisan politics in recent years, at the federal, provincial and now, even municipal level. However, in typical Peterborough belwether fashion, there are voters in the middle who are looking for solutions to everyday, street-level problems.
One local issue that arose this week via a campaign promise from the incumbent makes the two candidates' political differences clear.
Bennett, as you'd expect, is a law-and-order leader. He announced this week that, if re-elected, he'll work closely with new city police Chief Scott Gilbert to crack down on street-level drug deals. This, he said, will make the city (particularly the downtown) safer for everyone. The old approach of targeting the higherlevel dealers needs more immediate action, he said.
It’s encouraging to hear Bennett talking about friendly co-operation and a shared mission with the chief (after years of very public disputes with Gilbert’s predecessor), and most voters would agree that arresting drug dealers is a good thing.
Therrien, as you'd expect, responded with a different take, saying Peterborough has to address the social ills that lead to drug addiction (and drug sales). She said poverty, jobs, support services, housing have to be addressed before the people suffering the symptoms can be dealt with.
Not a problem, Bennett said: Peterborough has jobs, support services, and adequate housing for all.
Therrien shot that idea down, pointing out the long waiting lists for affordable housing, high rents and lack of vacant apartments in the city. Their differing positions should be no surprise.
While Bennett may be skipping over some of the social challenges facing Peterborough, his position on drug crime can’t be faulted. Nor can Therrien’s.
Bennett is right to seek to augment recent changes in downtown policing and pursue a crackdown on street-level dealers. Every bust will result in a criminal off the streets, however briefly. Therrien is also right: Fix the big issues to reduce the need to chase down low-level crooks.
They're both, however, incorrect in thinking one solution or the other is the only way to go. What's needed is a combined approach – fund and support the programs that help lift people out of poverty and crime and work to address affordable housing concerns, while sending a message through increased arrests that crime has consequences, and the police are watching.
The cycle of poverty/addiction/crime is a tough one to break, and there's no easy solution. The candidate elected to lead the next city council would do well to consider elements of the other's approach to drug crimes.