Sam vs Judy-The Mayoral Debate

Sam and Judy put on quite a show in Red River's cafeteria on Wednesday morning. The cameras and newspeople transformed the cafeteria into a dramatic debate zone. I had no idea civic politics could be so exciting!

Who won the debate?

It's hard to say. Both candidates seemed to be making a lot of the same points and finding ways of making each other look bad. This made for an entertaining event, but didn't really leave me as informed as I would have liked to be on some of the details of the major issues. 

Sam came across as the more articulate and confident of the two, looking more relaxed and having shorter more concise answers. Although, he did seem a bit sarcastic and pompous at times. Especially when trying to undermine Judy because she didn't own a business. 

Judy, on the other hand, talked too much. She had lots of say, but a lot of it was just the same things over and over again. Apparently, almost any problem in Winnipeg can be solved by building a community centre. 

Both candidates did a lot of talking around the issues, instead of just telling us what their action plans were for meeting the needs and concerns of Winnipeggers. 

I was left with quite a few questions..... 

How is Sam Katz going to get the money for a Light Rail Transit system? 

Will the property tax increase really have a negative effect on the most vulnerable citizens? 

Is Sam hiding things from the public? 

Does Judy really have all her receipts in her garage?

In the end, I may not have all my questions answered, but it was really neat to actually see the candidates in person and get a better sense of what they're all about. Plus, it was fun.