Thunder Bay mayoral hopefuls make their pitches to voters as election day looms

With advance voting in Thunder Bay's municipal election already underway, and with less than two weeks until election day, the five candidates running to be the city's next mayor had their second chance to state their cases to the city's voters.

The Thunder Bay Public Library hosted a candidates' forum on Wednesday evening at the Waverley Park branch with a public turnout that filled the viewing area, and carried into an overflow space. 

The session was the second all-candidates mayoral event of the campaign, following a lunchtime gathering hosted by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce last week.

On Wednesday night, the five candidates — Ken Boshcoff, Clint Harris, Gary Mack, Robert Szczepanski, and Peng You — were first given the opportunity to introduce themselves and then answered three questions from a predetermined list. 

Each candidate was asked different questions on a number of topics. 

Ken Boshcoff, who was the city's mayor from 1997 to 2003 and then had an unsuccessful run in 2014, emphasized his track record in working with community organizations and boards. He said when those groups were looking for a leader, he was the one who answered the call.

"That honed my skills in leadership, governance, organization, fundraising, business development; all of those things, as a team leader, that are vital for someone who is going to lead a council of new people without any experience and some hearty veterans who probably have their own mind about what they want to do," Boshcoff said.

Former newspaper publisher Clint Harris also cited his business experience and community involvement. 

"I spent a lot of time either on teams or leading teams," Harris said. "I'm Googlable so you can actually look to see the successes and I can explain them to you."

Gary Mack, a social worker who had been the executive director of Shelter House before running a small business, said he's been knocking on doors across the city since July and has heard one clear theme.

"There's one thing I'm hearing over and over again. Thunder Bay wants change at city council," Mack said. "They want a mayor that is responsive to what the citizens are really asking for."

Robert Szczepanski, the youngest person in the race, said he's heard that people are looking for something different from politicians.

"I'm going to be different. The world we live in, it's not going to be the same as it was yesterday, and that's a good thing," he said. "I want to fix mental health in this city above all else, because I firmly believe if we take care of our most vulnerable citizens they will give to us ten-fold and make this city not just great, but amazing."

Peng You, who was elected as an at-large councillor in 2018 and mounted an unsuccessful provincial run under the Progressive Conservative banner earlier this year, said he's looking to give back to the community