Goodrich Releases Statement Of Clarification On Mayoralty Debate

By October 23, 2014Breaking News, News

By Meghann Coughlan. A Statement of Clarification regarding tonight’s Mayoral Debate, signed by moderator Justin Goodrich, has been released by Abbotsford Community Services. The date was emailed to both Mr. Braun and Mr. Banman on September 26th, 2014 with Mr. Braun immediately confirming attendance.

A second email was sent on October 15th, 2014 to Mr. Banman’s campaign manager in addition to several emails and voicemails.

The organizing committee was informed at the beginning of this week that Mr. Banman would only be in attendance for one hour due to Diwali events.

The following document will be printed and distributed at tonight’s debate.

This document confirms a continued lack of contact from Mr. Banman and zero initiative to re-schedule to another date where he could be in attendance for the entire event.

23-OCT-2014

Statement of Clarification

Good Evening,

As the moderator for this evening’s event, I have been asked by the organizing committee to address several matters as a means to bring clarification around some important issues.

Hosts:
While Abbotsford Community Services staff are assisting with the coordination / logistics of this event, they are but one of eight hosts. These hosts are as follows:

Abbotsford Arts Council MSA Museum
Abbotsford Community Foundation Reach Gallery Museum
Abbotsford Community Services United Way Fraser Valley
Fraser Valley Conservancy Women’s Resource Society of the F.V.

Timing of the Event:
The organizing committee, in concert with myself, selected the dates of both evenings. The following criteria were used:

(1) Within the election / campaign window.
(2) Subject to the availably of the venue.
(3) Did not conflict with any other “all candidates” events.
(4) Did not conflict with any publically advertised community events.
(5) Subject to the availability of the moderator.

After selecting Oct. 21st (Council) and Oct. 23rd (Mayoral) as the two evenings, due diligence was then undertaken to ensure the above criteria were met, and they were.

Notification of the Event:
The following actions were undertaken to ensure notification was provided to both Mayoral candidates:

• Press release was issued to several media outlets including The Abbotsford News who published it both online and in their September 3rd edition (page 7).
• Emails were sent on September 26th – RSVP received from Mr. Braun.
• A second email was sent to Mr. Banman’s campaign manager on October 15th.
• In addition to the above, there were also several phone-calls and voicemails.
• The organizing committee was informed at the beginning of this week that Mr. Banman would only be able to attend for one-hour this evening due to Diwali events.
• Mr. Banman’s Campaign Manager was informed that the evening would proceed as planned.

Tonight’s Format:
In light of Mr. Banman’s other commitments, the format of the evening will be as follows:

6:30pm Doors Open
6:55pm Five minute warning
7:00pm Opening remarks / Moment of Silence
7:05pm – 8:05pm Discussion with Mr. Braun
8:05pm – 8:10pm 5 minute break
8:10pm – 9:25pm Questions & Answers with the candidates
9:25pm Closing remarks
9:30pm Adjournment

In closing, it is the hope of the organizers that this document addresses the various issues / concerns that have been raised in the community over the past several days, and speaks to the fairness, transparency, and non-political nature of the process that was undertaken to plan these forums.

We look forward to your participation this evening.

Yours Sincerely,

Justin P. Goodrich
Moderator

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