Organizers were pleased with the attendance at the Bentley byelection candidate forum staged February 18 in the Bentley Elks/Legion hall meeting room.
All three contenders - Cora Knutson, Greg Rathjen and Ray Williams - were front and centre ready to let the voters know where they stood on issues concerning Bentley.
Cora Knutson, in her opening statement said "Why did I decide to run? Because I like Bentley" and added if elected she had the time to devote to the councillor position.
Ray Williams opened with his feeling that "facts are sometimes hard to come by (from the town)" and feels taxpayers’ money is sometimes wasted.
Greg Rathjen shared his "desire to serve the community" and said that because he understands how council works, having served on council before, that would mean less learning time for him.
Moderator Sandra Smith did a wonderful job introducing the contenders, laying out the rules governing the forum, and reading out the written questions. Many of the questions centered around how to gain more growth and development within the town. The audience was invited to put forward oral questions but none were forthcoming.
In three-quarters of an hour it was all over and the approximately 30 people in attendance had seen the three in action and heard their responses. All of the current council, Mayor Lynda Haarstad-Petten, Deputy Mayor Butch Howard, and councillors Robin Lemay and Pam Davey were in attendance listening to the councillor hopefuls.
The forum was sponsored by the Bentley Municipal Library and the library society.
Election Day was February 24 with the advance poll February 22.