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Candidates for mayor and council had an opportunity to share their views with the public Monday night, but few voters turned out to hear what they had to say.

Rough 30 people showed up at the Kin Centre on Newcastle Boulevard to listen to candidates outline their election campaigns at a forum hosted by the Miramichi District Labour Council. The only current councilor to attend the event was Reg Falconer, who is running for mayor. The remaining councilors were attending a meeting at city council.

End to bickering

A major focus of the candidates was the need for change, with many calling out the current council for heated debates during meetings.

Terry Whalen said he wanted to see an end to bickering around the council table.

"I will not initiate personal conflict around the council table, I will not take part in divisive debate around the table and I'll use my community experience to diffuse any debate which hinders the council from providing good government that the citizens are seeking," he said.

"I hope to be able to provide solutions not conflict as we go forward," Mike McCoombs said.

Mark Vautour echoed those sentiments.

"I'd like to see us come together as one instead of acting as several different voices," he said.

Jason Harris said the only way to bring change is to elect new people.

"Over the last 12 years, we've had a council that has not worked together. It hasn't been this last council that has put us in this position that we are in now. There are some good council members, but there are some members that have personal agendas. You want a personal agenda, please do not be on the ballot May 12," he said.

Brian Ahern said a change is needed so that people are thinking about the community as a whole.

"I come from the forgotten side of the river," Ahern said. "I think we have to start talking about this place as a city not a small town."

Mayoral candidate Gerry Cormier said for the city to move forward, citizens have to pick a council that can work together for the betterment of the community.

"We have to pick 10 strong councilors who are going to move this city forward," he said.

Candidates trade barbs

Many of the candidates present spoke about their experience, the work they've done in the community and the love they have for the Miramichi.

However, mayoral candidate Patrick O'Brien chastised those who did so.

"Try to find the guy who don't like the Miramichi, but it's not going to get you anything. It's stupidity," he said. "If you want the same, vote for the exact same people, and you'll have the same. If you want a change — and you seem to all come to me [saying.] ‘We want a change' — well, we'll find out on May 12 if you really want a change. I don't fool around. I do it the right way the first time. Just because you love the river doesn't mean anything."

O'Brien added he wants to run the city as a business and he will bring his experience as a business owner to the job.

Current councilor and fellow mayoral candidate Reg Falconer responded to O'Brien.

"Pat, I do have a business," Falconer said. "I have three or four businesses. I know what it's like to build a business and run a business and this city doesn't run like a business. For the past 10 years I have worked my hardest to make the table see that we had to treat it like a business. Very easy to stand here at this podium and say that. Get four years in there and I'd like to talk to you then," he said.

From his his seat O'Brien replied, "Just means you haven't done anything."

Attracting business

That was the only spat during in the evening. The rest of the speakers stuck to their platform. Robert Trevors said council needs to speak with one voice and work to bring more business to the region.

Derek Burchill also said his focus would be on bringing new business and jobs in the area to keep people in the community. Scott Murphy also said attracting new business was a priority.

"What we really need is to develop a very long-term plan," he said. "We need to attract industry by being attractive to entrepreneurs."

Hubert Sweezy also called for the city to have a long-term vision.

"What we need here is an action plan with two or three major goals that everyone is working towards," he said.

"The city needs a new direction, a stronger vision for the future and fresh new ideas and perspectives to affect positive change," said Nancy Lordin.

Many of the candidates spoke of developing the tourism industry in the region.

Chris Allison said the city can't lose focus on industry.

"[I would like to see] a core group set up within council focused on bringing industry into the Miramichi. There's a lot of people that have an idea of tourism that's going to bring us a very potent future on the Miramichi and I do agree partly on tourism. But take a drive through Cavendish Beach, Prince Edward Island, tomorrow morning and you tell me how many people are working there."

Communication

Communication was a priority for some candidates. Ronald Kenny said he decided to run because it was clear to him there was a lack of communication between the city staff and city council which led to poor decision-making. Others said more communication with residents was needed.

"We've got to listen to people's opinions," Loreen McGrath said. "We can't make decisions by ourselves. I know the last councils were the old-school — tried that, done that."

Mayoral candidate Tim Hoban said he wants to see citizens better informed.

"There will be yearly reports going out to the citizens of this city to know exactly what's been happening and where plans are going," he said.

"Every candidate that runs for office and gets elected has to be held accountable," Bill Treadwell said.

Former councillor Lawrence Mahoney, who served on the very first city council, said he wanted to see more openness from city council.

"One thing I found over the last 10 years since I got out of politics was there hasn't been a decent open meeting held over at city hall. Everything is done behind closed doors … everything is decided in committee of the whole, which should never, ever be allowed," he said.

Michael (Tanker) Malley said he wants to see the city work better with other levels of government and said that hasn't always been the case.

"I've had too many experiences with past councils that only met with me twice in seven years when I was elected as MLA on the government side. What does that tell you?" he said.

Youth and community

Helping youth was among the priorities for some. Joan Cripps said she wants to see more programs developed to help youth in the community. Kirk Matheson felt the same way, wanting to put a priority on helping youth and youth at risk.

John Copp said the city has to take a look at the services it provides to citizens.

"We must improve community services. Those community services are your cost items. Those cost items have to be looked at and how we can deliver better, easier and more efficient," he said.

Mark Vautour said he wants to focus on health.

"We're the second fattest community in Canada. I'd like to work towards changing that," he said.