Susan Fennell wants back in Brampton debate
Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell wants back into a debate she was dropped from after she threatened to boycott the event.

thestar.com
Sept. 16, 2014
By San Grewal

Brampton Mayor Susan Fennell wants back into a debate she was dropped from after she threatened to boycott the event.

Fennell initially accepted the invitation to a front-runners mayoral debate for Brampton Board of Trade members being held Sept. 29, but on Friday released a statement that she would boycott unless all candidates are included.

Thirteen candidates are registered in the city’s mayoral race, but only five will take part in the debate, because the Board of Trade wanted to give candidates that have shown they are running serious campaigns ample time to discuss their platforms.

The group released a statement late Monday.

“Ultimately, the voters will decide whether Mayor Fennell’s threat to withdraw, having previously agreed to participate, is truly an act of solidarity or an attempt to either avoid having to answer the tough questions that will be posed to her during the debate or political gamesmanship to secure votes.”

The release stated that the debate format would not be changed and Fennell has been replaced by candidate Jacqueline Bell.

However, on Tuesday evening Fennell told the Star via email, “I continue to believe that all candidates should have the opportunity to be heard, but believe progress has been made to address the concerns of many people, including myself for the BBOT Sept 29 debate... With this said, I welcome the opportunity to participate in the BBOT debate on Sept. 29.”

Fennell said she has informed the Board of Trade about her latest change of heart. Board chair Susan Crawford, reached Tuesday evening, said she could not make a decision on her own to let Fennell back into the debate. “I will be consulting with our board of directors.”

Despite initially accepting the invitation, a week later Fennell stated that the four candidates, including herself, who were originally invited for the debate did not reflect Brampton’s diversity.

“I wanted a more diverse debate to properly reflect one of Canada’s most diverse communities.

I am pleased to see additions have been made, to better represent the people of Brampton.”

Crawford pointed out that Fennell had nothing to do with the composition of the debate. Bell had previously been identified as the next strongest candidate and therefore replaced Fennell, and Hargy Randhawa, who ran in 2010, receiving 13 per cent of the vote, was added shortly after he registered just before the deadline on Friday.

Mayoral candidate and current Councillor John Sanderson, who will participate in the debate, said Fennell’s flip-flopping follows a pattern.

“It’s just like her failed leadership. We see her wasting everyone’s time on the rare occasion she’s in the council chambers. The Board of Trade now has to waste its time on her. This has nothing to do with standing up for anyone. She pulled out of the main debate in 2010 because of her gala scandal, she shut down a council meeting last week by threatening legal action against councillors before we could hand her a punishment for breaking spending rules 266 times and now she tried to bully her way out of a debate put on by a very important group in our city. The Board of Trade stood up to her and now she doesn’t want the bad press.”

Candidate Linda Jeffrey, a former Brampton MPP, will also participate in the debate. She questions Fennell’s motive for threatening to boycott the debate, after initially accepting.

“Like the Board of Trade, I question whether Susan Fennell is using the issue of diversity as a smoke screen to once again avoid facing tough questions from Brampton’s business community.”

Randhawa said he looks forward to the debate so he can hold Fennell accountable. “Brampton has been given a bad name, not just in Ontario, but across the country because of the corruption in the mayor’s office. She has done nothing for business in this city. All her claims are the accomplishments of staff and other councillors. She’s been too busy with all her scandals.”

The other candidate taking part in the debate is Donald McLeod. The event is only open to Board of Trade members, but media will be covering it, Crawford said.