Buckhorn residents listen as candidates for Peterborough-Kawartha riding debate

Four people hoping to represent Peterborough-Kawartha at Queen’s Park answered questions on everything from quarries to rural schools as about 100 Buckhorn-area residents looked on Thursday night in the riding’s first all-candidates’ debate.

“I’m interested to see what these candidates have for our riding,” Sandy Saunders said.

Too often, Saunders said, what happens at Queen’s Park isn’t always in one particular area’s best interest.

She said she wants that to change and is looking for a candidate who will stand up for the riding.

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Her friend Marion Kelly had a different concern.

“I want to know what are they going to do for seniors,” Kelly said. “A lot of my friends are having to sell their homes because they can’t afford to pay taxes, the hydro, the gas, and a lot of them can’t even afford to get teeth or hearing aids.”

Kelly said she normally votes for the same party each year. But that may change.

“I am sort of switching, because of what I’ve heard,” she said.

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Four of the area’s candidates were at the debate: NDP candidate Sean Conway, PC candidate Dave Smith, Green Party candidate Gianne Broughton and Liberal incumbent Jeff Leal. Trillium Party candidate Rob Roddick did not attend.

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Don Bowles was at the Buckhorn Community Centre getting his first glimpse at those vying for his vote.

“I don’t have a big issue,” he said. “I’m just concerned about everything and the way it’s all going, and I’d like to know how they’re point of view is going to be. I’m riding the fence right now.”

It was a sentiment echoed by Jim Chapman.

“I just know that we have to have some kind of a change,” Chapman said. “Hydro has gone out of this world, and the price of gas, and carbon tax, and taxes, taxes and more taxes.”