G
ganjavih
Guest
Nov. 4, 2003. 06:14 AM
Tonight's TV debate will cap intense race
Candidates eager to break from pack
1,200 are expected for live event
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
In one of the longest and most intense mayoral races in decades, tonight's debate hosted by the Toronto Star and Toronto 1 television station could prove pivotal.
With polls showing it's a real horse race, the candidates will be eager to show off, get out their message and maybe even leave the competition in the dust.
The five leading candidates — David Miller, John Tory, Barbara Hall, John Nunziata and Tom Jakobek — will be taking questions from citizens as well as journalists from the Star and Toronto 1.
The moderator is Toronto Tonight anchor Ben Chin.
The debate, which will be televised live from 7 to 9 p.m. on Toronto 1, will be held in front of an audience of 1,200 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's John Bassett Theatre.
The long campaign, which officially kicked off Jan. 2 and heated up in October, has been marked by almost 50 debates and one event after another.
There has been a fair amount of mudslinging, with allegations of illegal pre-election funding by Hall, and Nunziata's accusation that someone from Tory's camp offered him money to quit.
Tonight's event is only the second televised debate. Citytv's debate, which aired last month, resulted in no clear winner. The candidates were criticized for talking at the same time, sometimes making it difficult for the audience to hear what they were saying.
"I didn't like the way they behaved on the Citytv debate. I was not impressed because they were shouting over each other," said Hatem Belhi, 32, who will be asking a question at tonight's debate.
Belhi, an East York resident, said he is still undecided about who to vote for next Monday. He has narrowed his choices to three: Hall, Miller and Tory.
"Toronto is a world-class city," he said. "It deserves someone who can put us on the world map."
He added there is no single galvanizing issue that will earn his vote. "I'm looking to the big picture," Belhi said.
Unlike provincial or federal politics, where usually only one debate is held, this municipal race has been chock full of them — in some cases as many as three a day.
"It's remarkable how long this election has gone on," said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.
"Debates are important, but unless somebody is seen as performing sub par or spectacularly, they don't end up determining that much."
However, given that the race appears to have become a two-person contest between Miller and Tory, Wiseman said both men have a great deal at stake tonight and will be under pressure to perform.
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Check out the debate if you can. I was supposed to go to ask a question about how each candidate would improve Toronto's architecture and general aesthetic appeal but I couldn't make it. Apparently, they found someone else to ask the question. So check it out!
Tonight's TV debate will cap intense race
Candidates eager to break from pack
1,200 are expected for live event
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
In one of the longest and most intense mayoral races in decades, tonight's debate hosted by the Toronto Star and Toronto 1 television station could prove pivotal.
With polls showing it's a real horse race, the candidates will be eager to show off, get out their message and maybe even leave the competition in the dust.
The five leading candidates — David Miller, John Tory, Barbara Hall, John Nunziata and Tom Jakobek — will be taking questions from citizens as well as journalists from the Star and Toronto 1.
The moderator is Toronto Tonight anchor Ben Chin.
The debate, which will be televised live from 7 to 9 p.m. on Toronto 1, will be held in front of an audience of 1,200 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre's John Bassett Theatre.
The long campaign, which officially kicked off Jan. 2 and heated up in October, has been marked by almost 50 debates and one event after another.
There has been a fair amount of mudslinging, with allegations of illegal pre-election funding by Hall, and Nunziata's accusation that someone from Tory's camp offered him money to quit.
Tonight's event is only the second televised debate. Citytv's debate, which aired last month, resulted in no clear winner. The candidates were criticized for talking at the same time, sometimes making it difficult for the audience to hear what they were saying.
"I didn't like the way they behaved on the Citytv debate. I was not impressed because they were shouting over each other," said Hatem Belhi, 32, who will be asking a question at tonight's debate.
Belhi, an East York resident, said he is still undecided about who to vote for next Monday. He has narrowed his choices to three: Hall, Miller and Tory.
"Toronto is a world-class city," he said. "It deserves someone who can put us on the world map."
He added there is no single galvanizing issue that will earn his vote. "I'm looking to the big picture," Belhi said.
Unlike provincial or federal politics, where usually only one debate is held, this municipal race has been chock full of them — in some cases as many as three a day.
"It's remarkable how long this election has gone on," said Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto.
"Debates are important, but unless somebody is seen as performing sub par or spectacularly, they don't end up determining that much."
However, given that the race appears to have become a two-person contest between Miller and Tory, Wiseman said both men have a great deal at stake tonight and will be under pressure to perform.
------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the debate if you can. I was supposed to go to ask a question about how each candidate would improve Toronto's architecture and general aesthetic appeal but I couldn't make it. Apparently, they found someone else to ask the question. So check it out!
