Any time, any place . . . except Thursday, and Tuesday

Posted by Brad Needham

I think Gloria Kovach would be a great debater. I hope we get to see it at some point.

But I have beef. If you're going to talk the talk, walk the walk. Kovach has been quoted saying she's willing to debate Frank Valeriote on issues at “any time and place." But not at yesterday's debate, because she had a scheduling conflict. And not this Tuesday either at a public meeting of byelection candidates at the Action Read literacy centre, where even the Animal Alliance Environment Voters Party candidate will be, along with the Liberal, NDP and Green candidates. Why? Because she has a scheduling conflict.

I know she's busy. Being a nurse and city councillor take up a lot of her time. But don't throw down the gauntlet of any time and any place, unless you qualify it with "that fits into my schedule."

Comments

[Zorba]

Good points Mr. Needham:
When Kovach said "any time, any place" she meant after Sept 8, and once her glorious leader Harper has sanitized her talk.
Until then, sorry, the muzzle is in place.
But that is what leadership is all about - avoid the issues, don't tell the voters what you stand for, and smear the opposition by mail-outs sanitized by the PM's office.
Yes that is STRONG LEADERSHIP!
And talking of busy, isn't that what the other four candidates are too? And they have time for the voters! Wow, Gloria should have taken a leave from City Council as has been suggested a few times.
Kovach - all icing and no Cake!

[Frank Stubbs]

I was disturbed to read this article and decided to call the Gloria Kovach campaign office to find out why she did not attend this debate.

Turns out that she was infact busy meeting Seniors at the Wellington Seniors residence and that was scheduled before the debate was.

Gloria could have cancelled her initial appointment and gone to the debate or keep her committment because she is attending the 3 major debates in Guelph over the next 2 weeks.

You would think that the Mercury would have mentioned the Wellington Seniors and the 3 major debates - they didn't. They try to take the high road but they, much like the other media is in the gutter.

Shame

[George]

I agree with you Frank but she should not have said that she would debate "anytime-anyplace" then. She should step down from City Council and take a leave from her nursing job immediately.

[anonymous]

She works for a living and has her constituents to represent. If she resigned from council they would have not have representation. Valeriote is a multi millionaire lawyer. He doesn't need to work and can decline clients any tie he wants. Nurses don't get to do that. I'd rather have someone who does their job and takes public office seriously enough to make sure she fulfills her commitments. She will be at the major debates.

[Jeff]

Wow, some pretty lame excuses from the Kovach crowd here. Look, if you want to call out an opponent, then back it up. Anytime, anywhere, just not here, right now is an astounding contradiction. All the candidates have the debate schedules, people are shuffling around their calendars, you don't think others have alternate plans?

Here's the bottomline, and only a partisan hack can't see through this the Conservatives keep their candidates away from the spotlight, preferring to issue press releases and appearances that are low risk. The last thing a Conservative candidate wants to do is free lance, it's their strategy and all you have to do is look at the last London by-election. Exactly the same stuff, it's no secret, so please with the excuse, it's an insult to people's intelligence. Kovach can't duck the big debates, so this is the compromise, and don't think for a second it isn't discussed well before these supposed scheduling conflicts.

Next tuesday, candidates will debate the issues with the people of Guelph. The other, will be out of town taking pretty pictures with Harper. Lets hope the voters can do the simple math. I suspect they will.

[Stephen]

Ironically, Conservative candidate Kovach comes off sounding a bit like former Liberal leader Paul Martin, who in 2005 offered an empty challenge to debate BQ leader Gilles Duceppe on every street corner in every town in Quebec.

Once Duceppe accepted the challenge, however, Martin found himself 'too busy' to debate Duceppe, and Stephen Harper was only too happy to present himself as Duceppe's debating partner, criticizing Martin as he did so.

Now that Harper's PM, however, he seems to be endorsing his Guelph candidate's adoption of the Martin tactics he once criticized.

Interesting.

[chg]

The Conservative Vancouver Quadra candidate was criticized for exactly the same thing -- she didn't show up at all-candidate meetings because she was booked for other things. However, she did quite well and almost won the riding. The CPC strategy there was to meet with targetted groups, where whatever you say to them doesn't get broadcast more widely.

I suspect the CPC is using a hybrid approach in Guelph. Shun some things where you might have to say things that are at odds with what you want to say to targetted groups, but agree to other things where that risk isn't great so that you get more public face time. At least Kovach is talking to the local press, unlike the Vancouver Quadra candidate, although perhaps only under circumstances where she doesn't have to say too much.

[Bert]

Wow. The people who aren't supporting Ms. Kovach seem to have problems with her keeping her already scheduled appointments. To be sure, she shouldn't have said "any time, any place", but come on people, she's keeping her promises.

[SMG]

Wow...

There are like 8-10 debates or all candidates events scheduled in every election...You can't expect that Candidates will go to all of them, can you?

I think Kovach is going to some of the bigger debates (from what I read above) and we will see what she says when she gets there....

As for the Liberals, they love talking about running a clean campaign and talking about issues that matter but all I see from my distance is the Liberals talking about Kovach

[Edward Pickersgill]

This being olympic time it should be noted there are many precedents for reputable high jumpers passing on the first few rounds. There is an argument in that sport that its wise to get in early jumps as a warm up and to get a feel for the ground and all the surrounding environs. Some high jumpers, however, play a kind of head game with their competitors by staying out. The occasional disaster does, at least in my mind, argue in favour of going through the early rounds. There have been occasions when a top-ranked head game player left it too late and went down tangled with the bar, much to the delight of afficiandos who prefer the sport of champions to the egos of head games.

But to each their own.

[Jeff]

"You can't expect that Candidates will go to all of them, can you?"

Everyone else seems to make it!!!