Thursday night's all-candidates debate hosted by the Prince George Citizen was, by all accounts, a success.
The three candidates who didn't show missed an opportunity to address hundreds of voters.
Among those who did show, a quick recap of events reveals no obvious homeruns, and even a few strike outs.
A majority of candidates skirted issues, either because they didn't like the question, didn't understand the question or didn't understand the issue.
For example, when mention was made of a Chamber of Commerce survey declared the city must improve its profile and reputation in order for local businesses to attract employees, not one candidate offered a specific remedy in answer to the Chamber concern.
But there were a few dark horses - Brad Gagnon and Jordan Gadsby didn't have the polished presentation of some of the other candidates, but approached the forum with new ideas and sincerity.
And although a little light on substance, Myrt Turner exuded a confident can-do attitude which charmed some in the audience.
Amusing to some in the audience was mayoralty candidate Eugene Fetterly - but one-liners aimed at playing to the crowd seemed all he had to offer. Fortunately, Fetterly doesn't appear to take himself too seriously either.
Council candidates Scot Affleck and Harry Ulch were also swinging at empty air, but without being as amusing as Fetterly.
Mayoralty candidate Alex Huber could have held his own as a council candidate, but was hopelessly outclassed by incumbent Mayor Dan Rogers and mayoralty contender Coun. Shari Green.
Rogers and Green both delivered solid, yet uninspiring performances.
Rogers stayed on message, presenting himself as the experienced statesman, the steady hand on the wheel. However he may not be hearing the many who want ideas for improvement, not status quo.
Green bills herself as the challenger, the voice of change - a little rough around the edges, but passionate about the issues. However she proposes the paradoxical solution of shaking things up to create a united council.
Incumbent councillor Brian Skakun was a clear crowd favourite despite, or perhaps because of his battles with City Hall over the illegal disclosure of a confidential report.
Incumbent councillor Garth Frizzell did a decent job offering up his knowledge of City Hall's inner workings, and we doubt his pointing out how aged the crowd was did any real damage.
Incumbent councillors Debora Munoz, Dave Wilbur and Murry Krause were also consistent. They didn't surprise anyone who has followed their performance on city council.
But Wilbur appeared out of his element, and lost the incumbent advantage of insider knowledge by reading from his notes rather than trying to engage to the audience.
Munoz didn't give a memorable performance, and avoided a crucial question with regards to RCMP officer numbers when she responded that council has increased funding for the past five years.
In fact the question on the Downtown Enforcement Unit was challenging for many of the candidates, including the incumbents, who should know what they are talking about.
Rogers and Stoltz were the exception.
In fact Stoltz was on the ball for most of the evening, except for the humourous moment when he inadvertently suggested "flattening" City Hall.
Council candidate Lyn Hall exuded the calm, thoughtful leadership which was his trademark at the Prince George School District.
The biggest disappointments of the evening were council candidates Albert Koehler, Frank Everitt and Dorothy Friesen.
Each comes with an impressive array of accomplishments, but gave flat and forgettable responses, leaving the audience with no real impression of who they are or what they stand for.
Newcomers John Beebe and Joanne Dickenson brought insight into some of the stale topics, but twitched with nervous energy which distracted from their message.
Of course, the real champions of forum were the 300-plus voters who gave up their Thursday night to attend - the people who filled the ballroom past capacity and stood in the hallway to hear what their candidates had to say. You were the most important people in the room.
-- Prince George Citizen
