St. Albert’s second public forum of the municipal election is set for next Tuesday and organizers are hoping for a big crowd.
The St. Albert Chamber of Commerce will host the event at the St. Albert Inn Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m.
The first half or so of the session will focus on business and economic issues, and then it will open up to broader subjects, said chamber CEO Lynda Moffat.
The format will be the chamber’s standard, which involves writing questions down for a moderating team to consolidate. This format draws criticism every time the chamber holds an event but Moffat insists it allows organizers to avoid duplicate questions.
“They’re not being screened. We listen to that all the time,” she said. “There’s a very short time and a very large number of questions.”
Local businessman John Farlinger will be the moderator.
“We also get criticized because we don’t use an open microphone but we don’t believe in that because oftentimes that gives people a platform to get up there and talk about their issue,” Moffat said.
The first forum of the St. Albert council race saw a packed house at the Arden Theatre Sept. 28. Moffat is hoping for the same kind of interest at the hotel, which holds about 250.
“We hope that there will be some questions come up that will challenge [candidates], that will pose something new for them that the public hasn’t had a chance to hear their opinion on before,” she said.
It’s not only what the candidates say that’s important, she added.
“How they conduct themselves, I think that’s just as important,” Moffat said.
“Would you be proud to have these people representing you and representing your city? You get a really good feel for that at these forums.”
