Marilyn Kapchinsky hasn’t completely made up her mind who she’s voting for in the election but one vote is probably going to someone she met just last week.
"I’m really impressed with some of the younger men who are running for the first time," said Kapchinsky, as the crowd milled around Saturday’s Chamber of Commerce all candidates meeting. "They bring this youth and this enthusiasm and they’ve got some really good ideas.
"I think one of them is going to get my vote."
Election candidates were given two different forums last week to espouse their views for the future of Whistler and answer some tough questions from residents.
In addition to the Chamber’s meeting Kapchinsky also attended WORCA’S all candidates meeting last Thursday, which offered a more informal approach to the election as candidates bounced between 23 tables every five minutes to answer questions from a handful of interested and engaged locals.
It was like a whirlwind round of speed dating, complete with election gimmicks from tic-tacs to fridge magnets and even a "life plant" which accompanied one candidate as he made the rounds.
Like speed dating, some of the questions touched on the personal.
When one person asked former Councillor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden if she would work with Ted Nebbeling again as mayor she replied: "I can work with Zippy the dog."
She did add, however, that she was supporting Ken Melamed for mayor.
Along with the personal, residents asked questions about several specific issues, from Larco’s rezoning for London Drugs and Whistler-Blackcomb’s Peak to Peak gondola to the sinking buildings at Eva Lake and the Class 1/Class 6 taxation dispute.
In a broader sense, affordable housing topped the list as the topic top of mind for Whistler, along with the economy.
Mayoral candidate Nebbeling talked about harnessing the enormous media attention that will descend on Whistler in the next five years in the lead up to the Olympics as his way of stimulating the economy.
"I think it is a very great tool to bring the world earlier to Whistler," he said.
As in any election, however, there was a lot of focus on the work of the current council. Many residents at the WORCA meeting asked the candidates how they propose to work as a team, given the dysfunctional nature of the current council. Incumbent Marianne Wade addressed this issue at one table.
"I don’t consider it dysfunctional," she said.
She likened council to a minority government, adding that she believed three new people were elected in 2002 to facilitate change.
"Minority governments are good for the community," she said. "They challenge the system and they bring about change."
The WORCA meeting allowed more than 100 residents to see a more personable side of the candidates as they sat down at each table, albeit briefly.
For some of the candidates that close contact was a good thing, for others it lost them votes, as participants could quickly tell the depth of their knowledge on the issues.
"It definitely weeded out the people who knew what they were talking about and (those) who didn’t know what they were talking about," said WORCA member Scott Brunning. "It was good that way."
Stuart Munro found the dialogue at his table, which focused on fiscal responsibility, very worthwhile. The format allowed him to see who was really listening to the issues and who was more concerned about his next question.
"It’s had me look at some people in different lights," he said.
If close contact with the public was nerve-wracking for some, Saturday’s Chamber meeting allowed those candidates who excel at public speaking a chance to woo voters.
Twenty-three of the 24 candidates – Shane Bennett attended neither meeting – were given five minutes on stage to speak to their platform.
After the speeches, during the informal mingle and question period with the candidates, retired resident Ross Harlow said he had made up his mind on four of the six candidates for council.
"This year I didn’t know much about the candidates for council at all, except for the sitting ones, so I came to try and learn who’s who and who to vote for," he said. "I think the candidates themselves, all of them, acquitted themselves very well."
Mayoral candidate Ken Melamed was given a lot of credit in the crowd following the speeches.
In his speech he addressed concerns about his narrow environmental focus for the past nine years on council.
"I was elected to council to represent a specific constituency and I have done exactly what I said I would do," he told the crowd. "I am here to commit myself to a larger constituency and a larger task."
Council candidate Sonya McCarthy also rallied support from the crowd in a passionate speech that included her long list of community activities.
"I’m up here for Whistler," she said. "I’m running for council because I really care."
In just the same way council candidate Jamey Kramer also touched a chord in the crowd as he made his speech complete with his snow pants and goggles, a reminder that this all candidates meeting was held on one of the earliest opening day’s ever on Blackcomb.
"I have had the best day today," said a beaming Kramer. " Make no mistake about it, I live in Whistler to snowboard."
And he raised some interesting points about what it’s like living in Whistler as one of the younger candidates running for council. For the past eight years Kramer, and many of his friends he said, have been living in Whistler just above the poverty threshold as a service worker – the backbone of Whistler’s economy.
"I think it’s only fair that one of us gets a seat on this council," he said.
But few young people were at the meeting.
Indeed, mayoral candidate Nebbeling, who has been a part of the community since the late ’70s, noted the familiar faces in the roughly 250-strong crowd. He vowed to bring back the town hall meetings to Whistler, like the meetings he held as mayor, so that the residents would be part of the process and have a say in the future of the town.
Like the WORCA meeting, the Chamber meeting gave residents a new perspective on the candidates.
Don Wensley predicts it will be a tough race for the six council seats.
"There’s a strong slate of people running for council and I would say there’s a dozen people there that have passion, excitement and would be good representatives," he said.
There are two meetings left to see the candidates in action.
On Sunday, Nov. 13 the Whistler Forum is hosting a session for the mayoral candidates. It begins at 2 p.m. in MY Millennium Place. The following day, Monday, Nov. 14, the Whistler Arts Council hosts an all candidates meeting at 5:30 p.m. at MY Millennium Place with a focus on arts and culture in the resort.
For those who can’t make the meetings, many candidates have web sites detailing their platforms.
The election will be held on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Kapchinsky plans to attend the remaining meetings to help her make up her mind.
"I just want to be as informed as possible on the candidates that are running because I’m concerned about Whistler as a community," she said.
"The community is in a fragile state and we need to bring it together so I came here to see who were going to be the best people for the job."
