A Calgary political analyst believes there were no real winners at Tuesday night’s mayoral forum at Mount Royal University.
Six of Calgary’s 10 mayoral candidates attended the forum, including Andre Chabot, Emile Gabriel, Larry Heather, David Lapp, Naheed Nenshi and Bill Smith.
The forum, hosted by the Students’ Association of Mount Royal University (SAMRU), focused on local issues such as the city’s Olympic bid, marijuana sales, police funding and issues facing post-secondary students.
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Speaking to Global News on Wednesday, MRU professor of Communication Studies, David Taras, said the debate lacked any real fireworks.
“Each had their talking points and there were no knockout blows, and they weren’t really going at each other.”
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Out of the 10 candidates, Taras said the three to watch are Nenshi, Chabot and Smith.
“I would even say it’s the mayor and it’s Smith – basically that’s the game.”
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“For Smith, there’s the whole question of very few people know him in the city. This is his chance to make a first impression, and I think among reporters and others there’s a sense of ‘Where’s Waldo.’”
“Where is his campaign? And what will he say?”
Organizers solicited questions prior to the event through social media accounts, as well as an online question form. There was also an opportunity for candidates to answer questions submitted by the audience.
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