Cable 14 Debate

So today was the big Cable 14 debate for the candidates from Ward 13. I have a lot of experience at delivering presentations with the aid of PowerPoint slides but talking directly to a camera isn't something I've done very often.

I remember long ago I was asked to say good morning - in Mandarin - to a local morning show in Nanning, China.  "Ni Hao, Nanning!" Not so tough. Doing a two minute monologue and another one minute piece for the closing remarks was going to be something entirely different.

As Malcolm Gladwell is fond of reminding us, practice makes perfect. And so I practised, and practised. With a stopwatch at my side, I had it pretty much down.

I got to the Cable 14 studio on Dundurn a little early and Toby, Arlene and Danya were already there. Rick and Pamela showed up just a short while later. This really is a great group of people and the conversation was easy and fun. Curiously, none of the other three candidates made it.

The producer briefed us on how the debate would unfold and ushered us into the studio. The first thing we all noticed was how cool the room was but as soon as we sat under the lights, it made a lot more sense.

The host/moderator did her best to put us all at ease and before we knew it we were "on air". Technically, we were live to tape but as far as I was concerned I might as well have been speaking directly to the entire City.

We were seated alphabetically and we delivered our opening remarks accordingly. When my turn came, I dove in and and was able to deliver my prepared address as I'd hoped I could. I had a lot to say and I was glad to get it all out. I did get slightly thrown off by the 10 second warning but I wrapped it up with a smile.

After the opening remarks, we were asked questions we'd selected at random from a long list submitted by different agencies and the public. It was a Forrest Gump moment. You just don't know what you're gonna get...

As you might expect, there were some questions that were easier to answer than others. My first was regarding improving the relationship between the new and the old Wards in Hamilton, in the post-amalgamation context.

While I have a strong opinion on how Hamilton would benefit from greater solidarity, there was something in the way the question was phrased that made it difficult to get the momentum I would have liked with my answer. Never the less, I was still able to get in some good talking points about voting blocks on council and Ward boundaries.

My second question was a nice easy lob about how I would go about finding efficiency within the City. I was glad to have something right in my wheelhouse. I was able to go on "at length" (given the one minute time limit) about the 80/20 principle and the principles behind the Understand, Simplify, Act process we use at work to streamline and optimize just about everything.

Next came the open part of the debate where we were encouraged to ask each other questions. As you might expect from a room full of people from Dundas, there weren't very many sparks or jabs. It mostly resembled a friendly chat. In fact after the closing remarks and we were off the air, the moderator said it was the most friendly debate she'd ever hosted.

All in all, it was a lot of fun. It was a completely new experience for me and that's always a good thing. Ironically, we're on Bell and I don't get Cable 14 so I'm not sure I'll even get to see how I did. In a way, it doesn't really matter - I'm happy with how it went and I was able to say the things that were important to me.