With Sarnia’s municipal election less than a week away, three of the city’s four mayoral contenders met for a debate Monday night at the Imperial Theatre, to address key local issues.
Hundreds attend the forum, organized by the theatre, Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce, the Book Keeper, Jean Collective and Healthy Democracy.
Among the central topics raised during the evening was the city's response to mental health and addiction struggles.
Scott Molson discussed his so-called "three R's" to address those dealing with addictions.
"Rehabilitation, you go to Bluewater Health and you stay there for a week, Recovery, you go to Ryan's House and you stay there for a month, then after that you go to the Hub which is at the old SCITS," said Molson.
Bill Dennis argued that people can't be forced to accept help if they don't want it.
"When we had the Rainbow Park incident, many of these people were offered spaces in social housing but they didn't want to obey by the rules, they didn't want to stop using drugs," said Dennis. "You can't help someone that's not willing to help themselves."
The candidates also discussed the need to work with all levels of government.
Carrie McEachran said they need to expand on the existing relationship between city and council.
"It's also important to remember it's not just the mayor of Sarnia that sits at that table; we have councillors that sit at that table too," said McEachran. "So it's ensuring that the mayor and the councillors that represent the city at the County of Lambton are all working together, we're all on the same page and we're all supporting each other."
Dennis responded by criticizing McEachran.
"This is where your inexperience comes in," he said. "We have a horrible relationship at the county because the county takes advantage of the City of Sarnia. We pay roughly half of the dues out there and they say no to our expansion and they dump all their problems on Sarnia."
The role of Sarnia mayor was also discussed.
Scott Molson stressed the mayor represents every member of the community.
"You have to represent the people, all people, all diversities of people," said Molson. "The mayor has to be someone who is smart enough to fix Sarnia."
McEachran said whoever is in that seat needs to know the difference between governance and operational.
"So we work with the council to ensure priorities are set for the year, the business plans are in place and then we roll out those priorities to the staff that we're responsible for."
Bill Dennis said the mayor is who represents the entire city to the public.
"The mayor typically is the face of the city during times of crisis, during times of emergencies and during times of hardships," he said. "The people look to the mayor for leadership."
Incumbent Mike Bradley was not in attendance during Monday's debate.
Attention now turns to the council contenders, who are scheduled to take the stage at the Imperial Theatre Tuesday at 7 p.m.
There are 17 people vying for city/county council positions and 21 running for city councillor.
On election day October 26, you can tune in to Sarnia News Today on COOL 106.3, 99.9TheFOX, or Big Country 103.9 when the polls close to get results from right across Lambton County.
With files from Mark Brown
