Municipal By-election down to five candidates

MunicipalByelection

They’re dropping like flies: Tonya Organ announced today that she is dropping out of the municipal by-election race for personal reasons, and last week Dave Wells announced that he was dropping out as well.

This leaves five candidates competing for one City Council seat: June Alteen, Gary Kelly, Trent Quinton, Tarragh Shanahan, and Alton Whelan.

Aside from some lawn signs, most candidates have been fairly quiet so far, however I think that Gary Kelly is at least proving that he’s visible and willing to work for the position. You may have seen him marching up and down O’Connell Drive in all sorts of nasty weather, or standing outside hockey games at the Pepsi Centre with his bright yellow campaign sign, waving as the cars head down the hill.

Gary has also set himself apart from the other candidates with his online presence. He seems to be the only candidate with a website where he is talking about city issues and the election, and he’s active on Twitter and Facebook.

The City of Corner Brook has not made any attempts to begin to communicate to it’s residents through “new” communication tools like Facebook and Twitter, so it would be awfully nice if this new city councillor could help bring the City online.

Don’t forget about our Community Issues Forum taking place on Wednesday, March 9, 7pm at Brewed on Bernard. You can be a part of the forum by submitting questions for the candidates to election@cornerbrooker.com.

Posted on by Tom Cochrane
Tagged: , , , | 11 Comments
  • http://garykelly.com Gary Kelly

    Thank you for the kind words CornerBrooker!

    I’ve been trying very hard to get my name out there. I’ve walked many miles and spoken with many people about the issues facing our city. By putting yourself out there so openly, it is a great way to get feedback and listen to what people are having to say.

    I’ve also been a big fan of social media and trying to reach out to people online. I’m hoping it allows me to connect with a younger group of voters and students which is a group that traditional does not come out to vote all that often.

    Cheers.

    Gary

  • Gino’s Boy

    Keep up the momentum Gary…Mom says she’s voting for you!!!

  • Trent Quinton

    Tom,

    Rather than say “most candidates have been fairly quiet” I think that it would be more fair to say ” most candidates appear to be fairly quiet”. As far as saying that “at least” gary is proving he is willing to work for the position feels like your implying that others are not. Perhaps I should have invited you to come with me last night when I spoke before a group of concerned workers or to my meeting today with a local committee rep.

    There are many ways to get to the center of town and sign waving is just one.

    Trent Quinton

  • http://garykelly.com Gary Kelly

    Trent

    Rather then saying “to the center of town” implying that the centre of Corner Brook is the only place I have been, which suggests I have not been anywhere else, perhaps you should have chosen your words more carefully as well.

    Rather then saying “sign waving is just one” way to reach out to people, implying that my efforts are trivial and silly, perhaps you should have also chosen your words more carefully as well.

    I’ve covered many areas of this city. I have spoken to many people and I have heard many issues. I’ve walked the streets talking with people in sun and driving snow. I’ve reached out to various age groups through my own website, FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media outlets.

    I’m trying many tried and true methods of campaigning and some newer ways as well.

    I guess we all could do a better job of expressing ourselves in writing….. I would put myself at the very front of that list.

  • Anonymous

    Hey Trent,

    I probably could have chosen my words better, but my point was that this is what I have seen. You’re also reading that “at least” wrong (my fault, poor word choice) — I meant that, if nothing else, walking around in a blizzard to catch the eyes of traffic shows commitment.

    I assume/hope that other candidates have been active knocking on doors, talking with people and doing their thing but I haven’t actually seen any of that. Visibility is a big thing and doing something different makes you stand out.

    Cheers!
    Tom

  • Trent Quinton

    Thankyou Tom,

    Understood.

    Trent Quinton

  • Lmquinton

    Tom, I’m glad to see that you responded quite well to Trent’s comment and stood corrected with your words. I’m sure that all candidates are working hard and are using their own means for finding the centre of town. I’ve heard that expression many of times, use it constantly, and also understand it. How you get to the centre of town simply means that what ever your plans and goals are, as long as you get there, it doesn’t matter what direction you take. The main thing is that you get there.

    Gary, I’m sure that Trent wasn’t implying what you said he was implying. He was probablly the first out of the gate with a response to Tom’s comment, also defending all other candidates. I’m not surprised that Trent didn’t comment back to your remark and fairly sure that the other candidates won’t either. Let’s let this campaign focus on the issues and refrain from this type of behavior.

    Good luck to all candidates!

  • http://garykelly.com Gary Kelly

    Thanks for the comment LM…

    I guess my point was twofold…. expressing ourselves in written words can be really difficult and secondly, depending on our own perspective, we can all read into things in a very unique way.

    In the past, I have written things that I thought were very balanced and fair but others were enraged about my comments.

    As I said in my original comment, I guess we all could do a better job of expressing ourselves in writing….. and I would definitely put myself at the very front of that list.

  • Ryan

    I’m a 30 year old voter. I follow all level of politics closely. I work a day job and am flat out most evenings and weekends. Honestly, I get most of my info via the internet. The ONLY person who has grabbed my attention in any way to date is Mr. Kelly. He’s the only person I have heard speak or know where he stands on certain issues.

    And yes, I have seen him walking around with his sign!

    So far, he’s got my vote!

    (I wonder if I’ve chosen my words correctly or not, according to Mr. Quinton. When someone is running for council and they’re already so defensive, it really makes me consider whether I would give him/her my vote.)

  • http://garykelly.com Gary Kelly

    Ryan thanks for the kind words. I really appreciate it. It’s nice to hear that your hard work is being appreciated by people. :-) peace

  • Tarragh Shanahan

    Wow!!! Lots to read here & it’s all very interesting. I would just like to set the record straight & say that I AM still in the running for the municipal by-election. Apparently, a certain local website stated that I had withdrew my candidacy but in fact that was false & it was Tonya Organ who withdrew. Unfortunately, there are several people out there who think I am no longer participating in the election. I do hope this can be rectified for I would hate to see it damage my campaign.

    I believe all the candidates are doing what they can in terms of campaigning & they’re doing a fine job at that. In case you were wondering, I ran in the municipal elections in 2009 & although I didn’t win a seat on council, I came pretty close. Six people were elected to council & I was sitting in the seventh spot with 2,172 votes & missing the sixth spot by only 247 votes. I am continuing with the momentum from that very election in this years campaign. I would lilke to send my condolences to the Renouf family & to the other candidates Good Luck, see you Monday & Wednesday evening at the forum. It should be a fun night!!