Last night’s forum hosted by the Creston Chamber of Commerce shed light on a coalition existing between those who do not support the fire hall borrowing referendum.
With over 200 attendees, the audience was treated with the immediate attention of the fire hall debate even though Moderator Brian Lawrence chose the first two questions at random.
Mayoral Candidate Bill Hutchinson with the support of councilor candidates Karen Goforth, Ellen Tzakis, Jimmy Karountzos, Debbie Cherkas all made it clear that they do not support the borrowing referendum.
Councilor Candidates in support of the borrowing referendum are incumbents Jen Comer, Karen Unruh, Joanna Wilson and candidates Jim Elford, Arnold Deboon, Trish Drinkle and Dallas Magrum.
Mayoral Candidates in Support of the Borrowing referendum are incumbent Ron Toyota and challenger Mary Jayne Blackmore.
They iterated that in order to find grant money for projects, approvals like the referendum must pass first.
After the intermission, almost half of the attendees left as the remaining questions were not Fire hall related.
This did not stop the “No” coalition from bringing up their opposition of the borrowing referendum, with many candidates simply using their time turn the questions back towards the fire hall debate. When asked about what a progressive Creston looks like, those in support of the borrowing referendum echoed that moving forward past this debate is essential so that Creston may grow in other ways.
The forum was interrupted at one point due to a problem attendee yelling about human rights and other matters unrelated to the forum. This was met by a number of good Samaritans who aided the man and promptly escorted him out of the theatre. In terms of further disruptions, though some of the matters were rebutted, non of the candidates acted out of character and composed themselves well.
Creston votes for both the referendum and their choice for council and mayor this Saturday.