Green team puts in strong performance at forum

Apr 26, 2017 | 5:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — The best thing about election forums is that voters get to see and hear how well candidates think on their feet. At last night’s media-sponsored forum, the thinking came in a range of speeds.

Liberal incumbent Todd Stone’s experience shone through as he maintained his composure throughout, even when jeered, reeling off lists of Liberal accomplishments. His preparedness was refreshing compared to some of the other stuff that was offered up.

But the Best Team award goes hands down to the Green Party pair of Donovan Cavers and Dan Hines, with Hines coming close to Stone for Overall Best Performance.

Nancy Bepple, the Kamloops-South Thompson NDP candidate, had a strong minute or two during debate on the provincewide doctor shortage, but both she and Kamloops-North counterpart Barb Nederpel struggled at times.

And Peter Milobar, running against Nederpel and Hines in Kamloops-North, played it safe and stayed out of the fray for much of the night. His low-key performance was, in fact, surprising.

Communists Beat Klossner and Peter Kerek, and Libertarian Jessica Bradshaw were there to demonstrate the inclusiveness of the democratic process, but not much else.

And what about those two key issues: health care and Ajax?

Health care was pretty much a draw, and it doesn’t seem as though anybody’s going to win the war of words over that one.

As for Ajax, the Greens and Communists are clear about where they stand but you couldn’t knock the Liberals and NDP off the fence with a 20-ton mining truck.

Indeed, Milobar and Stone wouldn’t have weighed in on Ajax at all if they hadn’t been asked to do so by moderators Bill O’Donovan and Doug Herbert.

One forum, of course, isn’t enough upon which to base final judgment, but there’s no question the Greens prevailed at this one.

WATCH: Click here to watch highlights, or a full broadcast of the forum