A hearty round of applause for the young people who organised last night’s Ward 1 candidates’ debate – the only one in Newmarket in this year’s election.
The Central York Leadership Group got off the ground in 2018 and describes itself as a group of driven youth leaders, 13-18 years old, dedicated to creating new opportunities in our community. They believe in civic duty.
They were the true stars of the show. Confident and self-assured.
Stale and Moribund
Their enthusiasm brings a breath of fresh air to a stale, palsied and moribund electoral process that can only persuade a quarter of us to vote. Turnout has been declining for years: 36.8% in 2014; 34.7% in 2018 and 24.8% in 2022.
Seeing the candidates in the flesh makes a difference. We see if they can think on their feet. If they have new interesting ideas. If they can engage the audience. Four of the five candidates showed up: Naqi Ahsan; Chintan Dudakiya; Sonia Fiorini; Nisa Chaudry. The fifth candidate, Nasim Bahari, didn't turn up.
The Mayor, acclaimed for the second election in a row, thanked the candidates but reserved his special thanks for the “absolutely incredible” young people.
“The biggest thank you, of course, goes to the Central York Leadership Group. This is amazing. Young kids here, putting together a debate. Debates are so important. The Democratic process is so important, and it doesn't seem to be always happening anymore. And to see them step up and say:
“We're gonna take a leadership role here, and we're going to host a debate for Ward I”
I think, is absolutely fantastic, and shoot the biggest round of applause for the night.”
The Mayor is on record saying he believes in election debates. So why doesn’t he do something about it? 
Let the Town host debates
He has a platform. He has enormous influence. He is at the peak of his powers. Instead of wringing his hands about our faltering “democratic process” why doesn’t the Town appoint an independent, arms-length Debates Organiser? And if it doesn’t have the legal powers to do this then why not lobby the Province for a change in the Municipal Act to allow this?
Alternatively, he could always ask the 13-18 year olds to organise further debates in the next round of elections – the Provincial and the Federal. I am pretty sure the teenagers would step up to the plate if asked. Our current MPP, Dawn Gallagher Murphy, and our MP, Sandra Cobena, who avoid election debates like the plague, might be persuaded to turn up if the invitation came from a group of 13-18 year olds.
For me, last night was a humbling experience. Most of the people who organised the debate are too young to vote.
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Click “Read More” below for the Mayor’s remarks.
Mayor John Taylor said:
“…and fulfil your democratic responsibility and right to vote. So thank you for being here for doing that. You know, I want to also say thank you to the candidates for putting your name forward and being willing to serve on Newmarket Council and public office. Having done this now for a while, I know how demanding elections are, and certainly the job itself is demanding. But it is an amazing and unique experience just to run, and just to go to the doors, and to meet the people and exchange ideas.
But congratulations, thank you for doing that. The biggest thank you, of course, goes to the Central York Leadership Group. This is amazing. Young kids here, putting together a debate. Debates are so important. The democratic process is so important, and it doesn't seem to be always happening anymore. And to see them step up and say:
“We're gonna take a leadership role here, and we're going to host a debate for Ward I”
I think, is absolutely fantastic, and shoot the biggest round of applause for the night.
Now, I have been asked to just provide a couple of little thoughts and pieces of guidance to the candidates. I've often said we're incredibly fortunate. We live in an incredibly fortunate little piece of this planet. And I, of course, believe, like you, that Newmarket is an incredibly special place and there's a lot of great people here who care deeply about community and give back to community. Like the people sitting here, as candidates. And (that’s) one thing I'm very, very proud of.
Over the last decade or so, we've seen Democratic dialogue. let's say, deteriorate across North America and beyond. In the town of Newmarket, I'm very proud to say that our council sits year and year out, and we conduct... we debate, we discuss, but it's always done with respect for one another, with a certain respect for civil dialogue and discussion.
And so, on behalf of the organizing committee, I know I don't need to do this, but I hope that we can count on that tonight, especially with young people running this, that they deserve to see the kind of conduct that we hope (and) expect from them. I know that's probably not necessary and not needed, but I offer that advice. The other advice I would offer is try to relax and have fun. If that's maybe impossible advice to take, like try, and you'll remember this for many, many months and many years, I suspect. That this experience (indistinct).
My last request is for everyone, this audience. I have a special request for you. Everybody here who participates (and who is) able to, can post online in the next four days, maybe twice, a request and an encouragement to people of Newmarket, your friends and your neighbours, to get out and vote…. Come on, you can do it. Let's vote.
Let's get that voter percentage up and let's make sure people understand how important these decisions are. So have a great debate, everybody. And try to enjoy it. And to the youth. Look, this is absolutely incredible what you're doing.
And I mean that. I think it probably makes everybody here very, very positive and optimistic about our future when we see young people coming forward and doing this kind of work that this group does.
And I do want to give also a shout out to Teresa Cruz and Shameela Shakeel, who sponsor this group and do some great work mentoring them along in their leadership. And I don't know if she's here, but to councillor Grace Simon, who started this core group, but who also deserves a round of applause for eight years of contributions as the Ward Councillor for Ward 1.
(Check with delivery. Lightly edited for clarity.)