Mayoral forum coming to MacHall

By Riley Hill

The University of Calgary will host a mayoral forum on Oct. 7 and a city councillor forum on Oct. 9 in the MacHall ballroom, giving students the chance to question Calgary’s leaders before the municipal election on Oct. 21. The two events are being organized in partnership between the U of C Students’ Union and Civic Camp, a local non-profit that tries to encourage civic engagement.

At this time, only Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has confirmed that he will attend the Oct. 7 mayoral forum.

NUTV plans to stream the two events. According to SU vice-president external Connor Brown, the SU sought the partnership with NUTV because of the many viewers who streamed the event during the 2010 municipal election.

“I think NUTV had like 800 people watching online for the last one three years ago,” Brown said. “We’re hoping to get the same kind of engagement.”

Questions for both forums will be selected through a crowd sourcing website where students vote on what they would like to ask the candidates.

Brown said he will make sure candidates state their position on secondary suites, which he sees as one of the most pressing issues facing students this election.

“We want to make sure that we get all the candidates on the record on where they stand on the legalization of secondary suites, so if there is ever a proposal in front of council, we can hold them accountable to the promise that they made,” he said.

To vote for questions, go here.