The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

2 Friday, September 23, 2022brooklintowncrier.com It was a ho-hum. I strolled out of Whitby's charming Centennial Building on the morning of Sept.12, unsated by the Chamber of Commerce's mayoral "debate" or Q and A or whatever one might call it. Perhaps a tiny part of me hoped for a rip-roaring oratorical blitz- krieg of Trumpian proportions, replete with insults and falsehoods. No, that would have been excessive and indeed unnecessary. However the experience did provide me the equivalent of an uninspiring white meat only chicken dinner with a smattering of green peas and a dollop of mashed potatoes - with no gravy. The setting was certainly charming as the building is also home to the Whitby Community Theatre. A main floor wing features massive steel doors that open into airless offices. While waiting, I found a Town employee in a small office practically wheezing for the lack of air circulation. I joined him in the room for about a minute before needing to step out for oxygen. And what was the reason for the non-functional doors? Vaults? Jail cells? Solitary for past mayoral candidates to reflect? The CoC laid out yummy breakfast goodies, not chicken for those who misread my earlier metaphor. Some could be bad for me so I summoned the restraint to not gobble the pastries. The coffee though was tepid and tasteless. If you've ever had arena coffee, you'd relate. So ends the culinary review. Mayoral candidates Elizabeth Roy, Deidre Newman, and Evan Griffiths sat at a table on the stage, answering the moderator's prepared questions and then a few vetted ones at the end written by attendees. A chap in the front row held a timer and yellow and red cards. His job was to raise the yellow card when the speakers had 30 seconds left in their responses and the red one when time was up. Except when time expired, he would jump to his feet, calling "Time's up," which, in my humble view, made the red card redundant. Or the standing was. Regardless, the three hopefuls were respectful of time constraints which helped the morning blandly clip along, just as planned. The audience of about 100 was comprised of local business Less than half the picture by Richard Bercuson The non-debate debate Monday - Thursday 9:00am-7:00pm Friday 9:00am-5:30pm Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm Sunday Closed SALES (905) 721-6599 SERVICE (905) 721-6588 PARTS (905) 721-6577 445 Winchester Road East, Brooklin Financing Available AS LOW AS 3.49% with $0 down Reserve Your Vehicle! 1201 Dundas St. East, Whitby SALES 905-668-5846 SERVICE 905-668-8871 PARTS 905-668-8853 Top Dollar for your Trade Order your New Hyundai today! (We will secure your rates with Hyundai's PROGRAM PROTECTION!) Order your Pre-Owned Car with us! Contact us or come into the dealership for details!Order Sierra 1500 2.7 Litre ORDER YOUR PRE-OWNED CAR WITH US! Head Coach: Mike Jones left to right: Kelly Lewis, Kyle Hayman, Sean Hill, Phil Stone, Rob Rybarczyk. Back row: Nolan Jones, Colson Williams, Tye Brooks, Andy Stone, Isaac Koolhaas, Brian Hill, Connor Hayman. Front Row: Callan Dew, Tyler McMenamin, Liam Lewis, Logan Rybarczyk, Matty Timmins Whitby Canadians 9U A team went undefeated and won the OBA championship. It was the only Whitby team of 18 to take the title. types, supporters and a handful of councillor candidates. I would have thought that every prospective councillor would attend given that this allowed them to hear from the next mayor. Wouldn't the $30 entry fee be tax deductible? Of course, who else could attend on a weekday morning? The affair was pleasant and professional yet it struck me then, as before and since, that a full fledged evening debate, with free admission, should be held since this audience was hardly representative of the Whitby populace. Then everyone could experience something more of a thrust and parry that might better highlight our next mayor's skills to run council. Chocolate-infused pastries and gourmet coffee could be optional. The team won the EOBAs and advanced to the OBAs in Tecumseh on the September long weekend. The championship banner will now hang at the Strike Zone.