Avlonitis comments upstage debate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/10/2010 (5575 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What was, by and large, a respectful and courteous mayoral candidate debate on some of the Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s pet issues yesterday was marred by several alarming comments courtesy of maverick candidate Nickolas Avlonitis.

During a lunch-hour debate sponsored by the chamber, and attended by approximately 350 people, mayoral candidates Dave Burgess, Shari Decter Hirst, Henry Hansen and Avlonitis squared off for the third time in a week by talking taxes, economic development, crime rates and what they believe is the true definition of affordable housing.

A painter by trade, second-time mayoral candidate Avlonitis made a late entrance several minutes into the debate and certainly raised some eyebrows with his off-the-cuff commentary.

Avlonitis proclaimed to the crowd that he is a part of Brandon, "whether you want me or not." He then explained his vision of a successful downtown by painting a picture of standing on a street corner "and you see the lovely ladies walk by, fully clothed, in nice winter clothing and you see the gentlemen walking along and the icon is there."

He also spoke against a casino as an appropriate economic generator for Brandon by commenting "if you take a 24 of beer to the tribes that live in the Amazon, you’re going to mix up something that doesn’t work out."

Avlonitis’ strange remarks even drew a stern warning from the forum’s moderator, Kerry Auriat, as he directed a low blow at Decter Hirst during his closing address by stating that "with all the big money set to roll into construction in Brandon, I don’t think we need the pink outfit in the middle of it all."

There were some highlights to the debate, however, as Decter Hirst broached the idea of implementing an accommodations tax as a way to offset the cost of maintaining Brandon’s aging recreational facilities.

"Hotel taxes are another source of revenue that almost every other city uses so that they don’t have to increase property taxes," she said.

"Frankly, it has never stopped me from travelling, to know that I would be paying a hotel tax at the other end."

Burgess, however, says he’s not in favour of any new user fees and, further, would prefer to keep any property taxes tied to the rate of inflation.

"I will always strive to be at or below inflation," he said.

"I believe that serves the community well, for not only what we want as infrastructure, but also for quality of life and leisure provisions."

Burgess put Decter Hirst on the spot early on in the debate, asking her how she believes she can be an ambassador for Brandon when she’s on record as saying the "downtown is dying" and Brandon is a "racist city."

"You only have to look at our downtown — empty sidewalks, empty store windows and crumbling buildings — to see that, in fact, we’ve got to maintain and protect our investments that we’ve made. But we can, with a plan," Decter Hirst countered.

"And it’s interesting to be able to talk about racism in the middle of an election in Brandon. I think we have to acknowledge that there is racism in this city because that’s the only way we can go forward."

Rookie candidate Henry Hansen also weighed in on the issue of the downtown.

"I’ve been to The Forks in Winnipeg and I like how they do all the different cultural stuff," he said.

"I think we can turn The Town Centre into something really cool like that."

However, despite running his campaign primarily on a desire to see Brandon’s complement of affordable and low-income housing increased, Hansen could not answer what he believes Brandonites can actually afford to pay for somewhere to live.

The foursome will get the chance to share the spotlight again next Thursday, Oct. 14, during an evening debate scheduled by the Brandon and District Labour Council.

It is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the main foyer of Brandon City Hall on Ninth Street.

The labour council is also hosting a forum for council candidates the evening prior. It is also set for 7 p.m. at city hall.