UPDATED  November 2, 2006

Text From the Municipal Campaign Endorsement Press Conference

-On Thursday, November 2, 2006, the PEI Federation of Labour together with the MacKillop Center for Social Justice wrapped up our Municipal Campaign with a press conference at the former Basilica Rec Centre in Charlottetown. The purpose of the press conference was to announce to the candidates in the November 6 Charlottetown election that we were prepared to endorse.  The endorsements were based on the candidates' responses to questions asked in interviews that were held from Oct 20 - 24.  14 of 22 Candidates accepted our invitation to be interviewed. 

CLC representative for PEI Jean Claude Basque opened up the press conference and introduced Federation President Carl Pursey and MacKillop Center representative Mary Boyd.  Carl and Mary read a prepared press release and answered questions from the assembled media. 

Here is the prepared press release that was read:

Good morning and thank you for joining us today.

We called this press conference to unveil the names of municipal candidates the PEI Federation of Labour and the MacKillop Centre for social Justice are asking the public to support in the upcoming election.

First of all, we thank all the candidates who took time to meet with us to discuss their positions on the issues we raised.

We appreciate the openness of their responses and the time they took from their busy campaigns to respond to our questions.

Fourteen of the twenty-two candidates accepted our invitation. 

We interviewed candidates from each Ward except Ward 3(where no candidate accepted our invitation) and Ward 7 where the candidate was elected by acclamation.

Both candidates for mayor also accepted our invitation.

The interviews were based on the issues identified by participants at our June Community Forum. You have in your kit the leaflet that addresses these issues and the questionnaire that formed the basis for the interviews.

Candidates were asked questions on our five (5) main issues: Democracy, Public services, Environment, Newcomers and Poverty.

Our endorsement of candidates was based on their answers to these questions.

Ward 1: We could not endorse any of the two candidates. Fred Quinn had good answers for contracting out and the CARI complex but we felt he did not fully understand some of the questions and was weak on poverty and the support for public disclosure of campaign contributions. While we felt good support from Kim Divine on environmental issues and the public disclosure of campaign contributions, however we are concerned that she does not support the CARI complex being taken over by the City. We also felt that her answer on privatization and contracting out was weak.

Ward 2: We are endorsing Ronald Lee. He is strong on an accountable city council, against privatization and contracting - out and on the City taking over the CARI complex. Mr. Lee is also in favour of a ban on cosmetic pesticides and more help for newcomers. He made concrete suggestions on alleviating poverty. These include affordable housing, better access to the trades, industry and more literacy training. He would also lobby the provincial government to increase the minimum wage. Finally, he is open to work with labour and community groups and favours public disclosure of campaign contributions.

Ward 3: No candidates accepted our invitation.

Ward 4: We are not endorsing anyone. We interviewed Nora Bagnall but we don't feel we can endorse her. She was not fully aware of the issues brought before her.

Ward 5: We are endorsing Ghassan Kassouf. This was probably the most difficult decision our committee had to make. Both candidates are very well versed on the issues and support most if not all of them. The deciding factor was our concern with Ron Jenkins’ position on poverty.

Ward 6: We are endorsing Bruce Garrity with the reservation that he was weak on the issue of Privatization, contracting out and somewhat uncertain about how to handle the problem of the CARI complex. Mr. Garrity was very strong on the issue of accountability, Charlottetown transportation plan, Environmental issues (banning pesticides, limit number of cruise ships), Poverty and Newcomers. Dave MacDonald did not answer our invitation.

Ward 8: We are not endorsing anyone. (Peter McCloskey did not accept our invitation). Mr. Gillis believes councillors are presently accountable and will only accept public disclosure of campaign contributions for future campaigns. He is not in favour of the City taking over the CARI complex, is not for a ban on cosmetic pesticides and feels he does not know enough about the cruise ships issue to take a position. On the positive side, he is interested in liaising with labour and community groups.

Ward 9: We are endorsing Melissa Trainor. Ms Trainor believes in an accountable City Council and public disclosure of campaign contributions. She considers that city workers should always come first on the issue of contracting out and privatization. She agrees that the CARI complex should be taken over by the city. On the Poverty issue, she is for social housing, a liveable income of $10.00 an hour and tax breaks for seniors. However, she is not for an all out ban on pesticides. We do consider this to be a weak point. On the other hand, she believes there should be a limit on cruise ships.
We did not feel that Kathy Moase had a good grasp of the issues. Melisa Hilton was weak on the CARI complex, on the environment ( not for a ban of cosmetic pesticides and weak on the cruise ships issue), newcomers and poverty.

Ward 10: We are not endorsing anyone. Allan Poulton had good positions on contracting out and the CARI complex but was very weak on some of the other important issues such as a Transportation plan, Environment and Newcomers.

The Mayoralty Race: We cannot endorse either of the two candidates but we feel that Tex Macdonald had some very good points. In his favor he is saying that City Council has to be accountable but unfortunately is not prepared to disclose his campaign contributions. He is against contracting-out and favors the City taking over the CARI complex. He is weak on cosmetic pesticides and hasn't got a clear picture of the cruise ships issue.  Clifford Lee was against contracting-out and privatization and in favour of a transportation plan. He was weak on most of the other important issues. He believes the present council is accountable and does not support public disclosure of campaign contributions. He is against the City taking over the CARI complex and does not support a ban on cosmetic pesticides or a limit on cruise ships.
Both had good answers on poverty and newcomers

Our goal in undertaking this democratic process is to provide more information for workers and citizens to assist them to make a better choice next Monday. We believe that our involvement in this municipal election will have an impact on the way citizens view municipal elections now and in the future.

ANY CONSTRUCTIVE COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, OR ERRORS CLICK ON THE MAILBOX.