All Candidates Event- Town of Perth Mayoral, Deputy Mayoral, Councillor Elections

The Perth and District Chamber of Commerce is holding an All Candidates Event for the Town of Perth Town Council Candidates on Thursday October 8th from 6:00pm-8:30pm at the Studio Theatre Perth.

This is a FREE event for the community/ open to the public to hear from the candidates for the Town of Perth (11 Councilors, 4 Mayoral and 3 Deputy Mayoral). Please register on the right hand column of this page. If you require any accommodations, please advise by contacting manager@perthchamber.com by September 30th.
 

The subject matter will be economic development-centric and will focus on the 4 pillars members identified at our last Chamber Advocacy Roundtable in February: 

1) Staffing: Many business owners lament the difficulty of securing long-term staff. Consequently, staff turnover is high in this town. Issues relating to the affordability of living in the area, in addition to a lack of childcare options in the area, greatly impact the availability of reliable, long-term staff. Additionally, with rising gas costs, employees are preferring to live and work in areas with public transit access, which Perth lacks.
 
2) Permitting: Restrictions on building plans, and space rentals dissuade business owners from renting in town.  Many of the buildings are historical, but information on securing grants or funding to modify spaces for accessibility, etc., is not readily available. Parking restrictions and requirements deter businesses and is limiting infill developments options.
 
3) Childcare: The Town of Perth has few childcare options. Waitlists are so long that people are forced to look elsewhere, such as Smiths Falls, Almonte, and Carleton Place. Employees and owners therefore need to accommodate their own childcare schedules, which impact business hours, responsiveness and time spent running the business.
 
4) Housing: Perth is an expensive town in which to live. Prices are not much different from those in larger cities (ie. Ottawa). Some staff who work in Perth cannot afford to live, shop, or buy groceries here. New developments are on the horizon, however will they provide enough diverse housing needs for business owners and staff, while also growing a new customer base?

Format: Two question-and-answer periods. The first round from 6:00pm-7:00pm will focus on Mayoral and Deputy Mayoral Candidates. The second round from 7:00pm-8:00pm will focus on Councilor candidates. From 8:00pm-8:30pm there will be a meet and greet in which attendees can chat with candidates.

Questions from the public are welcome and encouraged. Please note: Attendees MUST submit their questions via email by Wednesday September 30. NO in-person questions from audience members will be taken during the event. The questions must pertain to one of the four pillars and must be submitted to either: 
 

Rose Grieder, Executive Director: manager@perthchamber.com, welcome@perthchamber.com

OR 

Joshua Smith, Chair of the Advocacy Committee: jsmith@aplinmartin.com.

Recorded content of the question and answer periods will be provided courtesy of: Cogeco Epico 100, and Cogeco Legacy 700: https://www.youtube.com/c/yourtvbrockvillesmithsfalls 



Interested in advocacy events such as these? We welcome and encourage volunteers to help us organize and run events. Please contact: welcome@perthchamber or manager@perthchamber to let us know if you would like to get involved in future events!

For more information, please visit our All-Candidates FAQ page.