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Kelowna Mayor Debate to Have Only One Candidate

Mayoral candidate Colin Basran will be the only one speaking at the UDI debate. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow)

The Okanagan chapter of the Urban Development Institute is holding a mayoral debate—but only one candidate will be there.

The organization only invited two candidates: Colin Basran and Sharon Shepherd. However, Shepherd announced on Friday that she would not be participating in any forum unless all eight mayoral candidates were invited to it.

“I do appreciate how challenging it is for organizations and media to arrange for candidate forums,” said Shepherd. “However we should remain inclusive and I feel it is not principled to participate when a selection process takes place. It should be for all or none. To have anyone choosing who should be there, based on a selection committee, on a unofficial poll, or any other criteria, limits the opportunity for democracy.”

Mayoral candidate Sharon Shepherd at the announcement of her candidacy. (Photo Credit: KelownaNow)

The UDI forum, which will be at their monthly luncheon on October 30, is still going on despite Shepherd's refusal. The organization's chair, Andrew Bruce, states their reasons. “While we respect her position on inclusiveness with other Mayoralty candidates, this particular forum does not lend itself to having all eight Mayoralty candidates present.”

The restriction is apparently due to only having about 45 minutes to an hour for a guest speaker at their luncheon. “From a sheer time limitation, we wouldn't be able to get full representation from all eight candidates," said Bruce ."Our membership and board decided that who we really wanted to hear from were the top two.”

Bruce claims that the invitation limitation was based on only including candidates with past city council experience and who the group considered the frontrunners. When asked why they still didn't invite the other six candidates when they found that only Basran would attend, Bruce said, "They're the two candidates we want to hear from as an industry group."

"We didn't want to try to accommodate eight candidates for this format of luncheon, so that was the decision of the board, and that's what we're going for.” He says that Shepherd's invitation is still open, should she change her mind.

On Shepherd's comments that limiting candidates also limits democracy, Bruce disagreed. "We are a membership organization. We have the right to ask to hear from whichever candidates we want to hear from,“ said Bruce. "This is not about dismissing the democratic process. We have the utmost respect for the democratic process and are exercising our right as a private-based membership organization to have an event catering to our constituents.”

(Photo Credit: UDI)

“In this case, it was determined that only the top two candidates would be invited. We also note that there are a number of public forums that are providing all of the candidates an opportunity to share their platforms. We must cater to our membership and follow the direction of the board.”

UDI says that Basran will still be there and will still have the opportunity to share his platform with the membership and answer questions.

For the most up to date and current information, visit our 2014 Civic Election Page.

For current information on candidates running in your community, visit the following sites:

Kelowna Votes, West Kelowna Votes, Lake Country Votes, or Peachland Votes.



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