Cathy Dobson 
Tuesday night’s mayoral debate at the Imperial Theatre was a study in contrasts.
On the one hand, one-term councillor Nathan Colquhoun seemed relaxed and happy to be in front of an audience of about 300, mostly older voters. Another 360 or so watched virtually.
On the other hand, long time incumbent Mike Bradley appeared somewhat defensive, speaking rapidly and looking uncomfortable at times.
Colquhoun said keeping the city’s airport open is not a priority and he has yet to see a business case to justify it. Bradley said it’s critical that council finds a way to make the airport viable again.
Colquhoun said his initial motivation to serve on council came from a desire to make Sarnia more business friendly and that, in the last term, council successfully cut down on the “red tape” that dogs new developers and business owners. Bradley denied that city hall generates red tape for new business and creates delays and additional cost.
“I deal with very few complaints (about the process),” he said, pointing to large developers like Tricar that have built multi-million-dollar projects in recent years.
Bradley talked about his successful collaboration with other community leaders in attracting international students to Sarnia.
“Without immigrants, this community will not grow,” he said. “Decline will continue when you can’t get skilled workers. The key is growth.”
But Colquhoun said it is not important to attract new people.
“I really care about the 70,000 people that are here and want to make a city that is flourishing and healthy,” he said. “I don’t want to get more people here. I want to make the city awesome for the people already here rather than one where we are trying to get more residents into our crumbling infrastructure.”
Colquhoun also said he believes Lambton College has heavily marketed itself to international students without considering Sarnia’s lack of affordable housing.
“Lambton College is doing a good job,” he said. “But the disappointing part is the city. We weren’t ready. There’s not enough housing for all these new people.”
Bradley pointed out the planning process is underway for hundreds of new housing units and that “there are good people doing good things to take care of the problem.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he added.
Colquhoun said the Integrity Commissioner’s role is flawed and should be scrapped. Bradley countered, saying he believes in the Integrity Commissioner’s complaint process to keep elected officials in line, although he thinks it needs reform. Colquhoun openly admitted that he broke the Code of Conduct when he released a letter from a diversity training company that said they would not continue to work with city council because remarks were made by some councillors that made their trainer feel unsafe.
“I thought the public had a right to know,” Colquhoun said. “…I thought a person of more integrity would share what had happened behind closed doors rather than use an old fashioned mechanism in order to hide the horrible things (happening) behind closed doors.” The issue distracted council, caused a lot of infighting, and the media had a heyday with it for several months. Colquhoun said Tuesday he’s done with “the drama” and made an effort to mend fences with his colleagues afterward.
“I want to work and collaborate with everyone on council, to actually make the city better,” he said. In the months following the diversity training firestorm, all of council found a way to put the incident behind them and focus on city business, he said.
Paul Wells, a Sarnia native and political journalist, was the moderator for the evening, which was sponsored by the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce, The Book Keeper and Imperial Theatre. He kept the hour-long debate moving quickly using questions submitted ahead of time by several dozen local residents. He also frequently followed up with his own questions.
A comment Wells made about Bradley’s longevity as mayor evoked the evening’s most emotional response. “I am not going to apologize for my record,” Bradley said, turning to the audience with a trembling voice. “I have given my life to this community.”
The experience he brings to the job means something, he added.
Wells noted that Colquhoun is a relative newcomer with only one term under his belt.
“I’ve learned a lot about the love the mayor has for the community,” Colquhoun responded. “I am not here because I think he’s done a bad job. I’m here because I think he’s over-stayed his welcome.”
The second half of the evening was devoted to the candidates running for council’s four city/county seats. Six of the nine showed up. Present were incumbents Margaret Bird, Mike Stark, and Brian White; former Sarnia councillor Andy Bruziewicz; and newcomers Chrissy McRoberts and Al Duffy. Incumbents Dave Boushy, Bill Dennis and newcomer Bill Anning did not attend.
The six candidates had a robust discussion about affordable housing in Sarnia, population growth, tourism’s potential and land use.
The entire event is available for viewing on the Chamber’s website (https://sarnia-chamber.webflow.io/) and is posted on the organization’s home page. It will remain online until the day before the Oct. 24 election.
A second all-candidates evening is scheduled for tonight (Oct. 12) with the 25 candidates vying for city council’s four city seats. It starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Imperial Theatre and will also be live streamed. Tickets are required but the event is free. Call the Chamber (519-336-2400), the theatre (519-344-7469) or The Book Keeper (519-337-3171) for details.