A crowd of between 250-275 attended the second South Dundas All Candidates meeting held in Iroquois. Tinkess Photo

IROQUOIS – The second South Dundas all-candidates meeting in as many nights was very much a repeat of the first, with candidates responding to questions in much the same way and very few surprises being offered to the audience.

This meeting, organized by the Iroquois and District Business Association and held in the gymnasium of Seaway District High School attracted a few more people, between 250-275, and followed a slightly different format. For one thing, the candidates were on the stage, rather than at the same level of the audience. As well, the candidates for Councillor were front and centre first, switching places with the Candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor after their 40-minute time slot had been exhausted.

Questions for the candidates were vetted by members of the Iroquois and District Business Association to ensure that the greatest variety of questions were asked by eliminating duplicates. Two people who preferred to ask their question themselves rather than have it read to the candidate by moderator David Lapier.

For the most part, it was a repeat of the previous evening.

  • 40 minutes would be allotted for those running for Councillor
  • 20 minutes would be allotted for those running for Deputy Mayor
  • 20 minutes would be allotted for those running for Mayor

First though, each of the 11 candidates would be allowed three minutes to introduce themselves. The order for this was as follows:

  1. Dylan DeJong (Councillor)
  2. Louis Hauteclocque
  3. Christian Major-Mueller (Councillor)
  4. Randy Merkley (Councillor)
  5. Tom Smyth (Councillor)
  6. Mike Thompson (Councillor)
  7. Nancy Van Allen Marcellus (Councillor)
  8. Bill Ewing (Deputy Mayor)
  9. Marc St. Pierre (Deputy Mayor)
  10. Ky-Lee Hanson (Mayor)
  11. Jason Broad (Mayor)

The questions asked at this event were a bit more focused than had been the case the previous evening. Some of the topic discussed were:

  • What are the Municipality’s plans for roads with no sidewalks so that people can walk safely?
  • What can be done to improve daycare availability?
  • Would you support a Clean Yards bylaw review?
  • Top priority for spending?
  • How to make rent more affordable?
  • How to help people who can’t drive get around?
  • Should the public be consulted before making any property bylaw decisions?
  • When a property is rezoned commercial, should utilities and fire response be considered?
  • Should a property owner be given time to correct a problem before charges are laid?
  • Should legal costs be shown as a separate item in the budget?
  • Will you ask for a public report on how long the landfill will last and what is the future plan?

The Councillor portion of the meeting ended at approximately 7:11 p.m., at which time they switched places with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor candidates. The candidates for Deputy Mayor, Marc St. Pierre and Bill Ewing went next, each answering several questions in turn, such as:

  • The landfill plan
  • Chess Road decisions (asked by a resident)
  • Would you consider leaving rows of corn standing at the edge of a field as a windbreak?
  • What steps will you take to make Council more accountable?
  • Can developers buy farmland for development? Can they in South Dundas?

Finally came the Mayoral candidate’s portion of the evening, with questions about:

  • Would you support training on governance, ethics, working with the public and conflict resolution?
  • Would you be willing/able to work with other members of Council despite personal differences?
  • Did you believe the current social media conditions and resultant bad publicity are keeping people from coming to South Dundas?
  • Would you allow time at Council meetings for people to ask questions?
  • Is Iroquois’s water lower quality than in the past?

To this question Jason Broad responded with an explanation of his personal liability in regard to ensuring that drinking water is safe and meets all provincial standards. Ky Lee Hanson explained that she had been approached by someone about this subject and asked the audience if anyone had a problem with discoloured water. One person spoke up and said that he had, twice. To which she responded, “So, it’s not an isolated issue.”

At the conclusion of the meeting most candidates remained and moved to their individual spots in the gym to meet people. The evening concluded without incident.