Municipal council candidates mixed and mingled with the public at the The Northern Grand Gardens on Thursday.
STRIVE: Young Professionals Group in collaboration with Sault Rotaract held Meet the Candidates: Political Voice Forum.
The event was mainly a chance for the public to meet and speak with the candidates running for mayor or city council.
Four of the six mayoralty candidates spoke to the audience in three-minute, timed speeches.
Those four included incumbent Debbie Amaroso and challengers Heather Cook, Robin Coull and Christian Provenzano.
Mayoralty candidates Ted Johnston and Austin Williams were not in attendance.
First to speak was Provenzano, who said that while the Sault’s MP and MPP represent the community at the federal and provincial levels, with other federal or provincial issues to consider, the person holding the office of mayor has an important opportunity to fully devote himself to serving Sault Ste. Marie.
Coull said he is interested in working on “a plethora” of issues to be addressed in Sault Ste. Marie.
Cook, who has attended city council meetings on a regular basis for the past three months, said if elected as mayor, “the people’s voice will be heard.”
Amaroso said as mayor, she is “dedicated to continuous improvement” for Sault Ste. Marie.
She said four years after being elected as mayor, local employment and the number of new businesses is up, and that she is looking forward to being involved for OLG and in the development of the new harbour project.
(PHOTO: Ward 3 city council candidate Matthew Shoemaker (right) meets with voters at Meet the Candidates: Political Voice Forum. Darren Taylor/SooToday)