Saturday’s Barrie mayoral candidate forum is going ahead despite criticism by two city councillors about the event's co-host, Engage Barrie.
Gwen Kavanagh, chair of Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) Chapter 36, which is also a co-host, said the forum’s status is unchanged.
“I have no intention of cancelling Oct. 1, although I’ve certainly had lots of phone calls encouraging me and even offering to pay for other locations, but I don’t believe in that,” she said Wednesday. “When I commit myself, I commit myself.
“I think from a few of the phone calls I got they were people behind the scenes, but I’m not naming any names and I’m certainly not going to gossip about it," Kavanagh added.
The forum is scheduled to take place Oct. 1 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army Citadel, located on Lillian Crescent.
Coun. Natalie Harris alleges that Alyssa Wright, the chair of Engage Barrie, is responsible for online harassment and verbal abuse of Harris through a Twitter account called the Biased Scribe, which Wright has denied to BarrieToday.
“My hope is that CARP host the event on its own, or partner with another respected, neutral community organization that does not have its chair create an incognito account that ruthlessly harasses people who have chosen to serve their community,” Harris wrote in a letter released Tuesday.
When informed Wednesday that the forum would go ahead with Engage Barrie's involvement, Harris responded.
“Their choice to go ahead with the forum is at their discretion,” said Harris, who is not seeking re-election after one term as Ward 6 councillor.
Coun. Sergio Morales, who is running for re-election in Ward 9, has said he believes Wright is behind the Biased Scribe and there will be consequences to Saturday’s forum going ahead.
“The public will hold CARP and its board fully accountable for receiving the proof of Ms. Wright’s behaviour, knowing about it, and still deciding to go through with a debate that involved Engage Barrie and Alyssa Wright,” Morales said Wednesday afternoon.
On Twitter, Mayor Jeff Lehman weighed in about the connection of Wright to the Biased Scribe.
“One of the top reasons good people don't run for public office — especially women — is online harassment,” he said. “It's therefore the height of hypocrisy that the chair of Engage Barrie Organization, a group committed to accountability, runs an anonymous account trolling Barrie councillors.
“Ms. Wright owes a lot of people in Barrie an apology, including the people who started Engage Barrie, and believed in its worthy goals.”
Wright did not respond to BarrieToday’s request for comment Wednesday.
One of the top reasons good people don't run for public office - especially women - is online harassment
— Jeff Lehman (@jedi_lehman) September 27, 2022
It's therefore the height of hypocrisy that the Chair of @EngageBarrie, a group committed to accountability... runs an anonymous account trolling Barrie Councillors. 1/ https://t.co/OGg5W1JyD2
Ms. Wright owes a lot of people in Barrie an apology, including the people who started @EngageBarrie and believed in its worthy goals. 2/
— Jeff Lehman (@jedi_lehman) September 27, 2022
Kavanagh, who has been running this CARP chapter for 14 years, said it has been holding provincial, federal and mayoral candidate forums since Day 1. She says she met with Wright a few weeks ago to discuss the forum and how it would work.
“It was very clear what we were going to do,” Kavanagh said. “That there would be no negativity allowed.”
Kavanagh said she met with Wright again Tuesday night, after Harris made her harassment allegations.
“I told her I wasn’t asking her to step down that she could make up her own mind, whether it was her or one of the others (from Engage Barrie involved in Saturday’s forum), that’s totally up to her,” Kavanagh said. “I was not asking her to step down or aside and I won’t.
"I certainly intend to go ahead (with the Oct. 1 forum).”
Each attending candidate will be given a chance to introduce themselves and share three priorities for the city. They will then each answer three set questions, sent in advance, chosen by CARP and Engage Barrie. After this, candidates will take questions from the audience, submitted at the beginning of the meeting.
“Our intention is to educate the voters on the people they are voting for,” Kavanagh said. “I’d like it to be clear that we’re not part of gossip, that we’re strictly trying to educate and help the candidates get their message across.”
The municipal election takes place Oct. 24.
