It turns out there were very few of those attending the mayoral debate on Tuesday that were actually there to hear what the candidates had to say. Instead, they wanted to see what kind of atmosphere they could create.
Individuals and groups in the crowd showed up in support of their favourite candidate but ended up being louder with the yelling, screaming and applause than those with the microphones on stage.
Myself included.
The best I could do as moderator in the auditorium at York Memorial Collegiate was to let everyone know that I knew where the principal’s office was if they got out of line.
Stopping the event altogether less than 20 minutes from the start so police could escort one woman from the room – proved to set the tone for the rest of the night.
My job was to make sure first timer Doug Ford, as well as Olivia Chow and John Tory had the opportunity to address questions about issues central to the campaign.
How many times I had to address the “ladies and gentlemen” in the audience and ask them to “please calm down,” I don’t know.
Each of the candidates were given the opportunity to say what they needed to but in order to be heard they had to raise their voices as well. On occasion they’d look to me to interject and find a way to rise above the rest – not a chance.
I was told to give them one minute each to answer the questions and then offer an ‘open’ debate for two and half minutes on the topic. The night turned into two hours of mayhem with the occasional barb thrown back and forth about experience, transit plans and the pride parade.
That’s assuming anyone was actually listening instead of watching what was happening.
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