Three all-candidates meetings for 性视界传媒鈥檚 municipal election are around the corner.

The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce is hosting the meetings in the atrium area of KPU鈥檚 Cloverdale Campus.

The series kicks off Oct. 4 with the school trustee meeting. City council candidates will answer questions Oct. 6. Candidates for mayor will meet Oct. 13, two days before voters hit the polls on Oct. 15.

鈥淭his is the most consequential election in our city in years,鈥� said Scott Wheatley, executive director of the Cloverdale Chamber. 鈥淚t is every voter鈥檚 responsibility to make informed decisions and to choose candidates that best match their vision for 性视界传媒.鈥�

The format is not set up as a face-to-face debate. The meetings will be moderated and candidates will all answer the same questions.

Wheatley added he doesn鈥檛 want the forums turning into 鈥渇ist fights,鈥� so anyone acting unruly will be asked to leave.

Chamber president Rebecca Smith will moderate the mayoral meeting and moderators for the other two meetings are yet to be announced.

鈥淚t鈥檚 important for the community to be able to make informed choices in the next election,鈥� Wheatley said. 鈥淲hoever we pick for both councillors and mayor will have a huge impact on businesses.鈥�

Wheatley said his three meetings are very timely鈥攁s opposed to other meetings that have run, or will run in September鈥攁s they rub right up against election day.

鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to see which candidates show up to the three meetings and which candidates don鈥檛,鈥� said Wheatley. 鈥淚 think the three meetings, being very close to the actual election date, will offer a timely forum for candidates to chat about their platforms.鈥�

Wheatley thinks it will hurt a candidate if they鈥檙e not at the meetings.

鈥淏y that time, all the dirt should be out there for people to talk about. It鈥檒l be important for all candidates to be able to answer fair questions.鈥�

Wheatley said he thought Pauline Greaves suffered in the recent provincial by-election for the riding of 性视界传媒-South after Greaves chose to skip the all-candidates meeting co-hosted by the Cloverdale Chamber and the South 性视界传媒 & White Rock Chamber.

鈥淓mpty seats are bad visuals,鈥� he added. 鈥淚f candidates want people to vote for them, they need to be accountable in public forums.鈥�

Wheatley said with the sheer number of council candidates, they are only going to invite one or two candidates from each slate for the Oct. 6 meeting.

Admission to the all-candidates meetings is free, but registration is required. The Chamber prefers pre-registration, but if meetings have not reached capacity, walk-ins will be accepted.

The school trustees meeting will take place on Oct. 4 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., with doors opening at 1 p.m. The early start was offered to accommodate a school board function in the evening. To register to go to the school trustees meeting, visit the Chamber鈥檚 registration

The all-councillors meeting will run Oct. 6 from 7 to 8 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. To register to hear the council hopefuls, visit the Chamber鈥檚 registration

The Oct. 13 meeting will feature the mayoral hopefuls. That meeting will also run from 7 to 8 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. To register to hear the candidates for mayor, visit the Chamber鈥檚 registration

Questions for the candidates in any of the three meetings can be emailed to info@cloverdalechamber.ca.

KPU鈥檚 Cloverdale Campus is located at 5500 180th Street in Cloverdale.

The 2022 B.C. municipal elections will be held Oct. 15.

For more info, visit

editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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