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| Above: From left, Rocco Rossi, Rob Ford, Sarah Thomson, George Smitherman and Joe Pantalone on the Tribute Communities Recital Hall stage |
The top five candidates for mayor of Toronto in next month鈥檚 municipal election came to the Tribute Communities Recital Hall on the聽Keele campus Wednesday for a televised debate that produced one clear winner 鈥 91亚色.
Left: President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri welcomes everyone to 91亚色
In a spirited discussion that will be aired Sunday at 5pm on Rogers Television, the five would-be mayors outlined their thoughts about transportation, finance and city governance on a concert stage resplendent with 91亚色 branded signage to a full house of students, staff, faculty and members of the public.
鈥淚t truly was a night that 91亚色 shone brightly,鈥 said Jennifer M.聽Sloan, 91亚色鈥檚 vice-president university relations, whose team worked with the Toronto Community Foundation, United Way Toronto, the Toronto Board of Trade and the Toronto City Summit Alliance to host the second of three Toronto Debates 2010 events leading up to the election on Oct. 25.
91亚色 President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri opened the proceedings with welcoming comments and a thank you to the organizers and sponsors. He also made sure the candidates knew about 91亚色's keen interest in transportation issues.
"Here at 91亚色 we are a commuter school," said Shoukri. "In the past decade our University has been highly successful in encouraging public transit use. Today, 33,000 members of our community rely on public transit to travel to our campuses. With the arrival of the two new subway stations here at our Keele campus we expect ridership to increase significantly and with the president of our 91亚色 Federation of Students being a member of the TTC鈥檚 customer service advisory panel, it is clear that transportation is incredibly important to members of the 91亚色 community."
Under the watchful eye of moderator and TVOntario host Steve Paikin, candidates Rob Ford, Joe Pantalone, Rocco Rossi, George Smitherman and Sarah Thomson responded to questions posed by journalists representing Citytv, 680News and the Toronto Star.
Right: TVO host and debate moderator Steve Paikin chats with candidate Sarah Thomson following the proceedings
The debate will have some lasting effects on 91亚色鈥檚 future, said Cindy Bettcher, special adviser to the vice-president university relations. 鈥淭he consortium includes many important stakeholders,鈥 said Bettcher. 鈥淲e were privileged to be hosting the event but more importantly we worked with the consortium partners, which will open up other opportunities for the University.鈥
With only three debates planned, it was a coup for 91亚色 to be chosen as host of the only one in the series held outside of the downtown core. Back in January, when Maria聽 Papadopoulos, 91亚色鈥檚 government relations adviser, attended a Toronto Board of Trade event, she was invited to hear about the Toronto Debates 2010 consortium鈥檚 plans and immediately proposed to Sloan that 91亚色 offer to host one of the discussions. The idea was quickly accepted and members of the University Relations team set about working with the consortium to make it happen.
鈥淭his was a really important event for our community,鈥 said Papadopoulos. 鈥淣ot just the University community but the larger community around the Keele campus. It鈥檚 important that community members and students get a chance to participate in this democratic process.鈥
Right: Journalists interview candidate Rocco Rossi after the debate
On the night, staff members from 91亚色鈥檚 University Events & Community Relations unit were involved from the beginning, working with the consortium鈥檚 organizers to ensure everything went smoothly. Members of 91亚色鈥檚 Media Relations team were also on hand to assist journalists representing an A-list of Toronto media.
The selected for the debate 鈥 transportation in particular 鈥 were ideally suited for airing at 91亚色, said Papadopoulos. The candidates clearly agreed, making numerous references to the Spadina Subway expansion through 91亚色鈥檚 Keele campus and its role in an overall transit plan for the city.
Left: Candidate George Smitherman, holding his 91亚色 water bottle, thanks the panel of journalists
鈥淭he collective efforts of the 91亚色 team made our University shine, and certainly impressed both the candidates and the consortium hosting the event,鈥 said Bettcher in a congratulatory note to University Relations staff the following day.
For more information on , visit the Toronto Board of Trade鈥檚 Vote Toronto 2010 website.
By David Fuller, YFile contributing writer