September 20, 2024 Stratford Times Debates are a critical part of election process STEWART GRANT Publisher In our current soundbite and echo-chamber culture, debates are an increasingly rare opportu- nity for citizens to absorb opin- ions from contrasting politicians. Personally, I can tell you that the last time I watched Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speak for any real length of time was during the 2021 federal leaders’ debate; and prior to that it took the podium. I thought about this topic lead- ing up to, and following, the Sept. 10 U.S. Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Ka- Although Donald Trump has brazenly cast aside many long-honoured political _tradi- tions in recent years, such as par- ticipation in the 2023/24 Repub- lican Primary Debates, and most notably the peaceful transition of power on Jan. 6, 2021, he has held with tradition and agreed to debate presidential foes Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this election cycle. The June 27 event showed ex- actly why debates are so import- ant. From the moment that Joe Biden hobbled on space with a blank look on his face, that entire evening showed the world that the “best-before” date on Joe was well past. Out on that stage, there riorating capacity — it was out there for all to see. It was truly a shocking and surreal display that led Democrats from all sides to pressure the President to suspend his re-election campaign. Similarly, on Tuesday night earlier this week, both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris were under the spotlight for a full 90 minutes as part of the ABC moderated debate. For the mil- lions who tuned in, they had the chance to hear both candidates interact in a relatively unfiltered way — providing a much more immersive experience that the usual spoon-feeding of selected quotes and spin-doctoring from their favourite “news” channel. The fact is, many people watch and read what they want to, and in the Unites States, Fox Anger- tainment Channel is far more . popular with viewers than tradi- tional news outlets. And for those this 2024 Election is so close.. es News is the number one rea- g oat the recent Democratic Na- tional Convention, there were many Republicans who: took the stage to speak, such as former Trump White House Press Sec- retary Stephanie Grisham, and former U.S. representative Adam Kinzinger. Both used their time at the DNC, on this huge nation- al platform, to speak directly to Republicans to encourage them to vote for “country over party”, as they explained why, in their view, Donald Trump is a threat to eames itself. Fox News ae a pia en their DNC c erage when these Republicans took the stage. Faithful Fox viewers would never hear about these speeches. Try searching for “Adam Kinzinger” or “Stephanie Grisham” online at Fox News’ DNC appearances shows uy A similar omission occurred earlier this week, when former Vice President Dick Cheney dropped the bombshell news that the longtime staunch Republican would be voting for Kamala Har- ris this fall. Cheney said, “In our nation’ -year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our re- public than Donald Trump ... He can never be trusted with power again.” Again, there is zero men- tion of Cheney’s comments on Fox News. The criminal lack of facts on Fox News, and other outlets like it, is the reason why it is so im- portant for people to take the time to watch these debates or lis- ten to speeches (from both sides) in their entirety, and hopefully draw some of their own conelu- sions instead of simply being told what to think by others who have a once-in-a-century pandemic to have me attentively watch him at was no shelter for Biden’s dete- around the world wondering why _ website? Nothing about their their own agendas. Letter to the Editor Erie Street Sonmiows Reeve cement proposal The following is a let nt.to Mayor Martin Ritsma and members of: ‘Stratford council and has been published here with the permission of the author. It has been edited Sor syntax, grammar, spelling and clarity. Hello Mayor Ritsma, members of city council and citi- zens of Stratford, This letter is in support of the residential infill proj- ect for the Erie Street parking lot, proposed by Robert Ritz Architect, as published in the Stratford Times Aug. and resident of Stratford now for 50 years. I can say with some authority that this Erie Street site is a very import- ant piece of land, ideally located and seriously underuti- lized as merely surface parking. The concept to add even more parking, a medium-den- sity (five-storey) residential building With grade level commercial would further strengthen our relatively intact downtown core. ee architecturally sympathetic design ay r existing eritage and provide additional "families with much-needed housing (a power centre was proposed in what was then farmland, east of our Canadian Tire store). Believing this wo have a very_negatiyeveffect.on the health of a town, in 2008/2009, I studied and documented our down- town core’s retail vacancy rate as part of my argument, and presentation then, w citizens including myself and the City of Stratford) won that Walmart zone-change: refusal. Walmart still arrived in town with a much scaled-down project and fit within existing retail zoned land. The rel- evance; Walmart added 80,000 square feet of retail and over the last 15 years this was absorbed into our market, and the downtown core has still managed to flourish. In my opinion, our existing retail owners would greatly ben- efit from hundreds of new people living meters away and mutual reasons to shop downtown for both residents and tourists alike. This is not to mention, grade level office space is also permitted in our downtown zonin; Resistance to the project viability is purely academic, summarized in three points. The largest and most ol ous; people, especially in small communities, love their surface parking a footstep away from their destination. CONTINUED TO PAGES STRATFORD 9, 2024. I, too, am an architect, also an environmentalist _ while using existing infrastructure. There is certainly de- mand for all aspects of such a development with the ben- < efit of walking distance to two of our theatres and many Saharan a ee a downtown stores. To address Coun. Jo-Dee Burbach’s MEDIA Gane question about retail demand, I would suggest this is a case of “build it and they will come.” On that note, I can say with certainty that the city’s STRATFORD Tl M E. S downtown core vacancy rate back in 2009 was much casas higher than itis now. This trend is an interesting compar- ison, as in preparation for my day in court at the Walmart ‘Stewart Grant - MenOotaenavencen OMB zone change hearing back in 2009, I was very Regional Editor concerned that an additional 180,000 square-foot retail r would further decimate the retail within our downtown ~ Local Jounalism Initiative Reporter Connor Luczka - connor@granthaven.com Graphic Design / Sales Inquiries Sarah Cai il Business Development Heather Dunbar - heather@granthaven.com eae wre Billing Administrator Guiding Principles ly i 1. Everyone has a story Contributors A a elit WANES Balen sue Se 2. The news should be free for all to enjoy Gary West, Paul Knowles, Emily Stewart, Lisa 3. Good news beats bad news Fred Gonder, Sheila Clarke, Irene Roth, Lee Griffi, Stuart Lender, Thomas R. Verny, Sydney Goodwin, 4. A Newspaper should be a community effort (contribute to your local paper!) Kristen Parker, Alex Hunt, Hannah Kavanagh 5. 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