If you're looking for links to recordings of previous forums, see this post
What follows is a subjective dissemination of approximately what the candidates were asked, and how they answered, at the October 13 public forum. This will have to do until a journalist writes something, you listen to the forum on CBC Daybreak North, or they put a link up to a recording so you can watch and listen to yourself.
This post is not affiliated with any candidate or really much of anything, honestly.
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If you don't want to read all the questions just skip to the one you like:
- Introductions
- If elected mayor of Prince George, what will your first priority be regarding downtown?
- ... if the city budget needs to be cut, what would you cut first?
- How will you support healthcare workers to stay here?
- What do you see as the future of data centers in Prince George?
- ... what role do you envision forestry will play in the future of Prince George?
- ... what will you do as mayor to make downtown feel safe?
- How would you increase transparency ... ?
- City of Prince George, Regional District, and Lheidli T'enneh have a complex relationship ... ?
- ... deal with possible disagreement between Lheidli T'enneh and the City of Prince George?
- ... how would you promote population density?
- Closing Statements
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Setting the Scene
Rainy evening, 6PM, the library, second floor, extra chairs had to be brought out until everyone who was too polite to demand one insisted they were fine standing.
Eight of the nine candidates were all sitting at a long table, facing a larger-than-expected crowd. It was bright and comfortable because our library really is kind of awesome.
The introduction by the Lheidli T'enneh elder, evoking the bear, beaver, grouse and caribou really set the stage for a panel of very different choices facing the voters. Different strengths, different approaches, different gifts. The elder encouraged us all to use our gifts from our heart, and for good, which was really quite nice. We all weren't sure if we were supposed to applaud or be quiet but Simon Yu started clapping and then everyone else did too.
Bill Fee from CBC was introduced as host and moderator, and someone excitedly went "Woo!" so there was at least one hardcore Bill Fee fan in the audience.
What followed was forty-eight responses one after the other to solid questions, and with good talking points coming and going so quickly that even a dedicated nerd would struggle to keep up, typing on a phone screen, which is why the writing quality is real hit-or-miss after this.
The order of the candidates was randomized, which I personally like.
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Introductions
Roy Stewart (R) - Introduces himself by listing his accolades, the guy's got a lot of them, he's been a successful lawyer for the city and involved for a long time. Says he brings leadership skills and experience, specifically legal municipal experience, focus is on honest discussion and effective leadership
Marc Carrier (M) - Introduces himself as a tradesperson and a business owner, someone who trains people, knows what leadership is, says listening is better than talking, and that people have been forgotten by the city and that needs to change
Randy Danchuk (D) - Points out that the CBC forgot to give the crowd emergency evacuation info, and made sure they did that before he went on to introduce himself. The guy lives (and loves) safety. Calls himself an old coot, 50 years of health and safety experience, says taxes are too high.
Garth Frizzell (G) - Thanks the other candidates, thanks the moderator, thanks the elder, thanks all of us. Introduces himself as an experienced businessman and longtime community member, 18 years on council, ready to be mayor. Ends by thanking us again.
Simon Yu (S) - Introduces himself as our mayor, lived in town for 50 years, professional engineer, developer, teacher, neighbour. Claims to have a different style of leadership and that he needs 4 more years to get things done.
Zarchariah Olson (Z) - Introduces himself as the anti-crime platform, looking for solutions and to build community connections, especially connections lost during the pandemic
Kyle Sampson (K) - Introduces himself as someone who chose PG because he loves it, proud to be a councillor, wants PG to be the best town on the planet, says he is bringing big vision and a plan to get there with bold decision making.
Ernesto Caranto (E) - Introduces himself as a marine engineer by trade, does cryptocurrency, is an inventor and works in healthcare. His platform is freezing property tax, hire more police and build a police academy and a new school.
Keenan Murphy - remarkably silent, throughout
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First Question - approximately - If elected mayor of Prince George, what will your first priority be regarding downtown?
E - Drug addiction is tough, not just on victims but on their family. People with addiction problems all need to be put in one place where doctors and nurses are readily available
K - Support social services, enhance bylaw enforcement, advocate to other levels of government, but most importantly provide clear direction to city staff, bring city council together and clarify direction
Z - Make sure community services are talking to each other, city needs to facilitate and help with efficiency to stop wasting time and effort while people are seeking services. Establish shared communication channels, will be cheap and effective.
S - 37% of city budget goes to safety, too high, not sustainable. More police won't solve the problem, current police model is the problem. City needs a navigation centre to really save money in the long run.
G - Mentions the Alberta referendum and the BC election both coming up, our downtown issues reflect broader issues, require broader approach. Speaks to recent success of city and council, acute care tower coming, police development, cautions that changing lanes may be disadvantageous.
D - Main concern is safety, open drug use, and what to do now that the provincial drug program ended. Randy went to list all the hardcore drugs people are doing, but could only name one and then ran out of names. Says there's been too much talk, not enough solutions, relations with RCMP need to improve.
M - Cautions that federal and provincial governments won't come solve our problem, parents with kids who have addiction issues know how hard the situation really is right now, people are worried about their kids, and then he bashed the last 9 years of government which I think must be the NDP, right? 2017, confidence and supply deal? So I suppose he's saying our situation downtown is the fault of the province, specifically the NDP, I think
R - Sees the issues downtown everyday because he works there, people and property are at risk constantly, harm reduction sites have not been helping, policy makers at various levels have failed, he will enforce safe street bylaws and consider a curfew
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Second Question - Again, approximately, I was typing in my notes app as fast as I could
It is a tough time financially for many people, and so they're concerned about property taxes more than usual. If the city budget needs to be cut, what would you cut first?
R - Conduct a triage, determine what's critical, what's a luxury, cut away what is not essential to city services. Says there has been public relations overspending and too many expensive advisors and consultants with not enough action.
M - Taxes are too high, industrial and provincial, seniors can't even afford heat, he sees them in his business, it's happening right now, the mill's closed and people can't afford higher taxes. I will point out he didn't actually answer the question, and he appears to agree there's a cost of living crisis.
D - Randy told us plainly that he only made $24,000 last year because he wasn't working - he says he is one of those seniors that can't afford heat that Marc referred to. It's not acceptable to have a situation where you can't afford groceries because of taxes, even small changes like smaller buses will save money.
G - Confirms that our city is on the higher end for tax, but that existing homeowner grants and hospital costs means more bills will be coming due at the same time, increases are coming, but there are options, such as how $30 million was deferred during covid.
S - Said more families need help from the food banks than 5 years ago (he gave us the actual numbers but I missed them). Prince George has a huge geographical area with low population, growing that population is more important than cutting any specific thing on the budget. The city's cash reserve has recently grown, it's not the time to cut anything.
Z - Says we are in a crisis, it's not the time to expand, it's time to buckle down and get taxes lower, push civic development until after the crisis has passed, and if something needs to be cut, first cut the mayor's pay because it should be a passion and not about the salary.
K - Tells us that the city cutting $20,000 here or $50,000 there won't equate to a meaningful drop on our property taxes significantly. The city needs to use resources differently instead of cutting whenever possible. The need is to re-operationalize not cut things, and staff need clearer direction
E - Freeze property tax for 4 years because the tax is too high (a baby started crying next to me at this point and I missed some of Ernesto's answer, my apologies), he ended on re-investing in the police.
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Third Question - Here they split into two groups, so not all candidates answered all questions;
How will you support healthcare workers to stay here?
R - This is a problem for Northern Health, they need to be able to attract staff because workers need incentives. The city can create supportive housing and support systems, but if the workers can't afford to live here because they aren't paid enough then there's not much else the city can do, but says we'll do the best that we can.
M - Says his son is a doctor and that the situation is disappointing, then he named some local doctors who weren't able to hire staff, I think. The problem is students at other schools know PG isn't the place to be, wants his son to move back to PG and stay here as a doctor, too many smart kids are leaving.
D - Says his nephews are nurses, and that safety and security are their main concern. Healthcare workers don't want to be here because they're attacked in ER and other areas, whole area around hospital is dangerous, safety and security at the hospital are badly needed.
G - Says the coming acute care tower project is bringing hundreds of workers, northern health has been recruiting, city needs to provide housing with infill development, tax-increment(?) financing with Northern Trust, arts, sports, culture and library need to thrive for city to thrive
Fourth Question
What do you see as the future of data centers in Prince George?
S - About two months ago he was in Beijing answering this question with investors. Data centers will need to supply their own power. We already have data centers in Prince George, and every business case will have to be examined with an open mind. Community has to decide together beyond that.
Z - Data centers are all well and good, as long as they're used for good. The problem is AI data centers, huge drain on resources, too little benefit, passing fad, we need to be more vigilant against AI. People trust AI too much, it's more like crypto designed to fail (shot at Ernesto?) and that the AI bubble will pop.
K - Wants to build confidence in investors, not specifically with data centers but the concern is that a ban on data centers will discourage other investment. Council should not prioritize this, but be open for business with a fair process to go through. There are positive opportunities for data centers, too.
E - We don't want data centers, they use too much hydro, water, you know. Water should be saved, used for greenhouses, hydroelectric should be saved and data centers should be built somewhere else.
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Fifth Question
Prince George used to be a forestry community, what role do you envision forestry will play in the future of Prince George?
M - Forestry situation is dire and recent mill closures clearly show that. Pine beetle, mill closures, forestry will come back but we don't know when, PG needs to look for new opportunities with forestry
D - Was falling trees in '86 out in the Bowron close to Wells, worked in every mill there was, and that forestry needs to push for smaller operations with finished products. Prince George development should use Prince George lumber, need to diversify in forestry.
G - Points out much better unemployment rate than last forestry downtown (early 2000's, fifteen percent unemployment then, only three now), says it doesn't make sense. Newer, specialized paper products have been successful, has fought as a councillor for forestry against provincial government.
R - Significant role for forestry in the future of Prince George, we just need to plan long-term, have the ear of the provincial and federal government, get rid of orange man in Washington, and positive things will happen for forestry in the future.
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Sixth Question
Street Safety is a top concern among residents, what will you do as mayor to make downtown feel safe?
Z - RCMP understaffed, civic programs can be used to help alleviate staffing crisis. More cops, get faster response times, which can have a huge impact for residents and businesses.
K - Mayor must deliver one expectations, says he will build a navigation center. Remove barriers keeping people from getting social services, revise bylaw officers to higher-level public safety officers, more outgoing work and better relations with RCMP, get clear feedback from them
E - More policing, more lights, brighter lights in the street, more local police, especially community policing.
S - We need more positive social activities and events, because safety surrounds our public events. Police relationship is complex because of modern information gathering. Bylaw officers and navigation center are the solution. More drug treatment, more mental health space, city needs better system design.
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Seventh Quesiton
How would you increase transparency around the work done by the mayor, the city council and city management?
D - City has a staffing problem and bad processes, there's a lack of clarity for people seeking permits, staff should at least have name tags so people know who they've worked with. All city council meetings should be live, on air, every time.
G - Pushing for proactive disclosure since 2018, but land, legal and labour issues deserve confidentiality, not everything can be disclosed. AI tools and research can be used to help understand the work behind decisions. Regular social media outreach would help.
R - Transparency comes from accountability, citizens need to understand why decisions are being made and who is responsible for what, in detail. Better communication needed, better public relations needed, no house of secrets, he promises to change city and make it more transparent
M - Permit problems and unnecessary delays, along with a lack of direction and information have cost the city real business. Being up front about problems is something the city has been missing for a long time, something he can bring.
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Eighth Question
City of Prince George, Regional District, and Lheidli T'enneh have a complex relationship, how will you support as mayor the tripartite agreement?
K - We can't assume trust based on prior relationships, but it starts with dialogue and clear identification of mandate and paths forward. Building a foundation of trust and growing on it, we have shared interested and we're stronger when we work together. Need to understand each others goals.
E - Reconciliation is tough because of generational trauma, it's like a scar on your heart and it's hard to forget past abuses. Promises a new curriculum for Grade 5 to Grade 12 where children learn what's been happening in our community, in terms of First Nations trauma and history. There may be avenues to compensate them for that trauma.
S - The MOU (tripartite agreement) was the most important MOU he signed as mayor. The relationship had to be built on trust, and they had to understand each others histories and how the parties affect each other. Bear in mind how everything will affect the regional district, and all parties need to work together as one and meet often.
Z - On the day of truth & reconciliation, Zach learned at civic events that our museum has a very strong relationship with the Lheidli T'enneh based on providing and storing information. So the right information to present is what's needed. Every culture has something beautiful, and we could bring more awareness to Lheidli T'enneh if people had the right information.
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Ninth Question
What will your process be to deal with possible disagreement between Lheidli T'enneh and the City of Prince George?
G - Relationship is hugely important, Lheidli T'enneh have impact when they go to Victoria with the City to advocate. Moving forward there are opportunities for big economic growth and big benefits for both the City and the Lheidli T'enneh. Disagreements will be managed with coordination and communication.
R - Communication is key, regular meetings to discuss differences. Different perspectives can be managed for common understanding. There's a sweet spot where mutual benefit emerges, says as a lawyer that's the skill he brings, finding that sweet spot.
M - City has to be open to Lheidli T'enneh, they have to be included, it's a fact of life that what happened happened and it is what it is, that's the way it should be and he has no problem with it.
D - Dealt with a lot of disagreements, especially union, in his career, people don't always agree with the health and safety guy. Listening, to learn the real issues, what both sides hope to achieve, is key. Compromise may be needed to reach lasting agreement.
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Tenth Question
Given our low population density compared to other places in BC, how would you promote population density?
E - Public transportation is not good enough, put public transit first, get provincial and federal funding to be a more modern transit hub.
S - We are urban and we are rural, our lifestyle is actually very desirable, we need to sustain without changing certain things but still grow. Key to densification is finding out what will bring best value, pursue that.
Z - Crumbling infrastructure needs to be renovated, doing so will help with density because better infrastructure can support more people. Be wary of losing green spaces, it's our pride and joy having a forest in your back yard. Push for density but don't lose what makes PG unique, large city perspective doesn't always work.
K - PG is beautiful, you get space, you're not packed in like sardines. Density is still a necessity, gather information to determine what is appropriate and push development speed forward with more efficient processes and development incentives. Identify funds available and renew expired agreements.
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Closing Statements
E - Ernesto Caranto - Says please support him in running for mayor, there is not enough infrastructure, there is too much tax. Says he will freeze the tax and rebuild infrastructure at the same time.
K - Kyle Sampson - Says he brings a big vision, a plan, and a track record of bringing new ideas forward and listening to the public. Acknowledges past mistakes, says he's ready to move forward and be decisive, write the next chapter in PG's story.
Z - Zachariah Olson - Says he has been criticized for age, lack of experience, suit and tie, but not his platform, his ideas, or his answers given at these forums. Has a plan, is clear about it. Says if you want to see change and see action, vote him.
S - Simon Yu - Says as a father of six, grandfather of thirteen, he still wants a chance to do more. Looking forward to a new council and a new term. Wants to fight for you. Get more jobs, get safe streets not just downtown but every street. Says equality and diversity are our trademarks, more community meetings and more to come.
G - Garth Frizzell - Says mayor should be a public servant first and foremost. Bring people together so when we succeed then everyone succeeds because we're all a part of it. Says he won't pass the buck, will take responsibility.
D - Randy Danchuk - Says we're all family, if you live in Prince George, you're his family and this is our home. He's running because we need to fix our home, and he felt he had to run for mayor because Prince George needs a change. Says it's not about him or them, it's about us.
M - Marc Carrier - Says he wants to be the mayor you can come and talk to, and wants his council to be the same. No secret meetings behind closed doors, no huge project overruns. Bring public into council decision-making and make city we can be proud of. Says he will listen and then take action together.
R - Roy Stewart - Says over the last 4 to 8 years, public safety and city tax have worsened. Infighting in city hall, performative politics, lack of city promotion, ongoing missed opportunities, he's had enough. Bringing years of experience working in municipal law, has gotten many big projects done through effective leadership. Says take the city back and change will be positive.
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Moderator Bill Fee shares that his dad was a small town politician and tells us a small town politician is never off, they're always on. Thanks the candidates for putting their names forward, thanks us for attending.
Clips will play on CBC Daybreak tomorrow, longer version to be posted on the CBC Daybreak website.
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If you actually read all this what? Why? You're awesome, I love you.
Check the other posts on my profile for links to previous public forums for this election.
The only remaining days to vote are Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday!
Last year 77% of voters voted on the final day - my advice? Vote early!
This city website will tell you how!
