Ward 5 incumbent Robert Kirwan says it's the people opposed to the Kingsway Entertainment District who are making it the No. 1 issue of the municipal election.
Kirwan said council and mayoral candidates are running specifically to try and kill the project, should they get elected.
“In fact, there are 10 candidates running against Mayor Brian Bigger, and at the mayoral debate at Laurentian University on Thursday it became evident that not a single one of Bigger’s opponents actually supports the KED unconditionally,” Kirwan says. “Each of them, if elected, would push for some action such as delaying the site preparation which would effectively stop the development and put it all at risk.
“Many of the ward council candidates are of the same mindset. This is all they know. That is why you don’t hear much about other issues from them, if anything. They are running on one issue – to kill the KED.”
As a voter, you have a really big decision to make this October, he said. If you're in favour of the KED, then vote for a candidate who will continue to work in your favour. If you're opposed to it, then put your check beside a candidate who will work to stop the project.
“We either keep the KED going as planned, or we kill it. That is what is at hand during the election period which runs from October 15 to 22,” he said.
Following is the full release from Kirwan:
Why is the KED the No. 1 issue in the municipal election this year? This is the question that many residents of Greater Sudbury are asking.
I agree that there are so many other important issues facing our city. I have been writing about most of them over the past four years. But it seems as if most of the media is consumed with candidate positions on the KED, or the funding, or the LPAT appeals, or the opposition to the casino, etc.
Whenever a candidate comes up with something else, the ideas being put forward are so far removed from reality that they could never happen, or they are simply too vague, like citing lack of leadership, taxes are too high, fix the roads, we need affordable housing, etc., without offering any real solutions.
If you want to know why this is the No. l issue, you just need to go back to June 27, 2017 when the decision was made by City Council to select the Kingsway site as the location for our new arena/event centre.
Council was convinced that a collaborative partnership was possible between the City, Gateway Casinos and a hotel ownership group. That made the arena part of something much larger than we could imagine in the downtown, so the Kingsway site was selected and the plan was implemented that has brought us to where we are today.
But immediately after that meeting last June, a group of downtown supporters vowed that they would do everything they could to stop the arena from going on The Kingsway. It has been a bitter battle ever since.
The opponents and at least one or two councillors have taken every opportunity to harass staff about the progress and the decisions that have been made. They have filed appeals to the LPAT. They have attacked the casino, as well as the arena/event centre knowing that they just need to kill one to kill the project.
And they have attempted to discredit Dario Zulich, Gateway Casinos, Catherine Matheson, and myself in order to advance their mission. Their ultimate goal is to change enough people on city council after the election so that they can pass a motion to reverse the decision to build on the Kingsway and bring the arena downtown. We knew this was their plan from the beginning. We knew this was going to happen.
And so here we are. Many of the candidates running against incumbents are against the casino or the arena and they are attempting to lure votes with false and misleading statements claiming that the current city council is going to saddle them with high tax increases, has no concern for the taxpayers, and needs to be replaced.
In fact, there are 10 candidates running against Mayor Brian Bigger, and at the mayoral debate at Laurentian University on Thursday it became evident that not a single one of Bigger’s opponents actually supports the KED unconditionally. Each of them, if elected, would push for some action such as delaying the site preparation which would effectively stop the development and put it all at risk.
Many of the ward council candidates are of the same mindset. This is all they know. That is why you don’t hear much about other issues from them, if anything. They are running on one issue – to kill the KED.
And so, as a voter, you have a serious decision to make. If you are in favour of the KED going ahead as has been planned and approved by the current city council, then vote for a candidate who is also unconditionally in favour of supporting the KED.
If you are against the arena or the casino, then vote for one of the other candidates who is in favour of opposing or stopping the KED. When the voting is done you will be able to predict the ultimate fate of the KED by the people who are elected to sit around the Council Chamber beginning in December.
All of the other issues will be dealt with effectively by whatever kind of council is in place. Our professional staff has everything in control and they will bring along reports and recommendations that will help councillors address those issues and concerns.
But we need to get the KED confirmed by the voters in order for the new City Council to go forward with the knowledge that they were elected to bring it home. We either keep the KED going as planned, or we kill it. That is what is at hand during the election period which runs from October 15 to 22.
That is why I am calling this election a Referendum on the KED. The results will tell us exactly how our residents feel and then the elected council can act accordingly.
So let's put it all on the line. To use an expression from poker, it is time to go "all in" and count the votes.
