Voters consider plenty of choices as they meet candidates in Thunder Bay's at-large council race

Thunder Bay voters got a chance to meet some of the candidates in the only city council race where they'll get to make multiple choices.

The Thunder Bay Public Library continued its meet the candidates series, hosting at-large hopefuls at the Brodie Resource Library on Thursday evening.

In the at-large contest, voters have the option of selecting five candidates, with the top-five vote getters earning a seat at the council table. There are 24 names on the list from which voters can choose.

At least two new faces are guaranteed to be elected, with just a pair of incumbents in the race and a third who was a ward councillor but is shifting to run at-large.

Voter Mohammad Noroozi said when he's asking candidates about their platform and what they would hope to achieve, he's also looking to hear about whether they plan to prioritize climate change adaptation and mitigation.

"Except for maybe one candidate so far, I haven't seen it mentioned on their platform at all," he said.  "It would be nice to see people showing some leadership and bringing it up, even when it's a bit unpopular and talking about how they're going to be making decisions on council."

"I think a lot of people are pragmatic about that. They're not saying to make it at the forefront of everything you think about, but have it paint the lens of how you're making infrastructure decisions."

Noroozi mentioned considerations for pedestrian and cyclist traffic when planning roadwork, and mixed zoning to create walkability as examples.

Payton Echum said he's looking for candidates to address racism and prejudice in the community, while supporting vulnerable people.

"A lot of places that are supposed to be helping us are turning us away," Echum said. "I'm a low income, I'm on [Ontario Disability Support Program], and a lot of places turn me away."

Peter Martin said he's been looking to hear more about how candidates would support the city's emergency services, along with their plans for maintaining core infrastructure.

"I think sewer and water systems are decaying rapidly in Thunder Bay, the washouts we've had and the amount of time it takes to repair those," he said.

Martin said he still has decisions to make when it comes to deciding his ballot, but has specific questions around what candidates will bring to the table if they're elected and their position on an indoor turf facility.

"Basically, people to speak their mind even if their thoughts and expressions are disliked, but at least they're representing the people of Thunder Bay," Martin said.

As of Thursday night, Echum said two at-large candidates had his support.

Noroozi said he expects to vote for the full slate of five.

"So far I have three picked," he said. "Three people won my vote [Thursday night]."

Municipal Election Day is coming up on Oct. 24 in Ontario. In Thunder Bay, advance poll have opened in select locations and online voting opened earlier this week.