Trio of Tories skipping debates
Local candidates say they are focusing on meeting ‘directly’ with Niagara constituents
There were only two candidates facing the cameras at the St. Catharines provincial riding debate hosted by local Yourtv Thursday.
For an hour, NDP incumbent Jennie Stevens and Liberal Ryan Madill answered questions about what their parties would do to tackle such things as long-term-care homes, social assistance rates and gas prices.
Conspicuously absent was Progressive Conservative candidate Sal Sorrento, a two-term St. Catharines city councillor, who debate host Mike Balsom announced had sent regrets about being unable to join the program.
But Sorrento wasn’t the only Niagara Conservative candidate to pull out or decline to participate in the TV station’s debates that are normally a rite of passage for local candidates of all levels of government.
Of the four Conservative candidates in Niagara ridings, only Niagara West incumbent Sam Oosterhoff has agreed to the join his riding’s debate, scheduled for Friday.
Niagara Centre candidate Fred Davies, a Port Colborne businessperson and former mayoral candidate, didn’t attend that riding’s debate at the Cogeco studio Thursday.
And Bob Gale, a two-term regional councillor running in Niagara Falls riding, turned down the invitation to participate in the Niagara Falls debate being taped Friday.
“No reason was given,” said manager of programming Jack Custers, when asked about the no-shows.
Custers said Sorrento and Davies confirmed two weeks ago they would attend but sent regrets a few days ago. Gale never did confirm but when Custers followed up with his people he was told he couldn’t make it.
But Cogeco shouldn’t take it personally. At least two of the candidates have declined chambers of commerce events, too.
Whether local Conservative hopefuls are choosing a campaign of silence or have been told to skip debates by the higher-ups is not clear.
Sorrento, Davies and Gale have not agreed to interviews with the St. Catharines Standard, Welland Tribune and Niagara Falls Review on why they are not participating.
“Sal is focused on knocking on doors and speaking with constituents directly about the issues that matter to their community,” an emailed response from “Team Sal
Sorrento” said.
“Team Fred Davies” also sent an emailed response.
“Fred is focused on knocking on doors and speaking with constituents directly about the issues that matter to their community.”
Gale’s spokesperson Krystle Caputo said in an emailed statement that Gale has “other commitments and we are prioritizing meeting directly with constituents in Fort Erie, Niagaraon-the-lake and Niagara Falls.”
Caputo did not specify what the commitments are.
Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce confirmed Sorrento on Tuesday pulled out of its upcoming debate on Monday at Club Roma. The chamber had been advertising the three major party candidates as confirmed since May 2.
“The refusal to debate is a missed opportunity for voters, but also for candidates,” said GNCC chief executive officer Mishka Balsom in a statement.
“At a time when millions of eligible voters in Ontario do not plan to cast a vote, and governments have a vested interest in greater electoral participation, the decision by PC candidates not to take part in debates should be reviewed. We feel that a public explanation should at least be offered.”
South Niagara Chambers of Commerce, meanwhile, is holding “candidates engagement” events online for the Niagara Centre riding Tuesday and the Niagara Falls riding Wednesday.
Executive director Dolores Fabiano said Davies sent regrets and Gale hasn’t responded either way, though normally the chamber would have heard back by now. Liberal and NDP candidates in both ridings are confirmed.
“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher. Here’s an opportunity to really get your message out, engage with the voters in your riding, and it just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Fabiano said.
She said the chamber’s policy committee put together five questions with input from members that are sent to candidates in advance of the event. The candidates are then given three minutes each to respond to each question.
“We’re not waiting for a gotcha moment, we just want to hear from them. We want to know where they stand on certain issues.”
Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus at University of Toronto in the political science department, said candidates may think the audience isn’t big for local debates and may see nothing to gain from participating in them.
“It could just be an opportunity for them to get embarrassed,” he said, adding sometimes they are directed on whether to participate by the strategists for the overall campaign.
“The idea is that these candidates are running on the fact that they’re Conservatives, that they’re part of Ford’s team, that they’re part of that brand. The candidate themselves might not be seen in as positive a light.”
Wiseman recalled a candidates debate he chaired at the university a number of years ago in which a candidate was so weak, he may have turned off voters who may otherwise have supported him.
“That could be part of a logic that’s going on. From the point of view of the people running the overall campaign provincially, they know if they’ve got strong candidates or weak candidates and they also figure ‘Hey, if we’re ahead, why gamble? Why risk? We don’t need the debate.’”
The Ontario PC Party did not respond to a question from The Standard about whether it had instructed candidates not to participate in the debates.
For their part, St. Catharines candidates Stevens and Madill took aim at Sorrento during their two-person debate, which will be aired next week.
Madill said the debate was enjoyable but it was disappointing that the Conservative candidate didn’t show up.
“It’s quite telling that they’re not showing up for debates, that their leader is not answering questions on the campaign trail. When they are trying to run to try to have our trust, they should be accountable in front of us to answer questions and put forward their vision.”
Stevens said the PC candidate wasn’t there because he knew they were going to hold his government’s feet to the fire on “useless spending.”
“Throughout the four years they have put people in poverty, they have caused homeless, they have not done anything in affordable housing, autism, that is another topic that would take me a whole day that this Ford Government has completely destroyed.”