Mary McNeil's no-show and Jenny Kwan's acerbic attacks assured that most of the people who did attend the forum (it was not a debate) started taking the sure-footed and reasonable Kettlewell a lot more seriously as a candidate. I was impressed by his calm demeanour and clear answers to questions. Kwan, on the other hand, continuously jabbed her finger into the air while delivering her talking points with an angry hectoring tone, avoiding answering the questions asked. One questioner even requested that Kwan not mention Gordon Campbell or Liberals in her response in an attempt to get her to focus on the question asked rather than spouting off NDP talking points.

Mary McNeil's decision to not attend the forum now makes her entire campaign appear shallow and disingenuous. If she can't stand up to bullies like Kwan and then cancels a previously confirmed engagement, how does she expect voters to trust anything she says or to fight for her constituents? I predict this could damage her campaign far more than had she shown up.

Kwan did nothing to win over potential supporters for the absent Parente, and McNeil's last-minute cancellation really irked many who wanted to hear what she had to say about various community issues. As a result, Kettlewell was the clear winner and probably won more votes than he expected that night. Perhaps that's why Kwan rushed out the door as soon as the forum concluded, while Kettlewell stayed to chat with nearly everyone who attended.  

The Liberals no-show at debates around the province is highly arrogant. Voters will remember this disdain for the public on May 12th.

Damien Kettlewell did fine, but weirdly supported a guaranteed annual income, but was opposed to raising the minimum wage to $10/hour - hardly a progressive position. It was a very amateurish performance to that question which pandered to some in the room. It certainly reflected his lack of experience and lack of depth on policy matters. As with most of the Green platform, once you scratch the surface, there is not much there but pie-in-the-sky promises.

Jenny Kwan answered all the questions in detail and was by far the best debater and seasoned campaigner in the room.  

Att: Vancouver Independent

I support raising the minimum wage to $9 asap.

Best to you and your campaign ~ Damian  

montyvan -- How can you actually say that McNeil's camp was wrong for not attending an all candidates meeting where one of the candidates was replaced by a seasoned Gordon Campbell basher? I went to this debate because I wanted to hear from the people who I would be voting for. I was not interested in hearing more party rhetoric. I can tune into TV or Radio or read Newspapers for that. I wanted to hear what the candidates had to say about actual issues affecting our riding.

All candidates meetings are precisely that. The decision by the NDP to send Kwan is an old trick the NDP have used numerous times. And the decision by the False Creek South Neighbourhood Association to let her attend was (while well intentioned) completely wrong.

I agree with you that Damian Kettlewell was by far the winner in this meeting, but without any of his actual competition there, he won it before it started. Hopefully we'll actually get to hear all the candidates this Monday. And hopefully the NDP won't pull any stunts again. 

I love how Mike Herschel makes no criticism of the no-show by the Liberal candidate. While I agree with you that Kettlewell was the winner of the debate, McNeil was the sure loser.

Regardless or whether it was out of arrogance or for a legit reason, neither attending nor sending a substitute will not bode well for the Liberal party's image.