Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 19/99) - Whether last week's Nahendeh candidates' forum helped voters decide who they will vote for depends on who you ask.

Pat Hardisty, who questioned the candidates about improving literacy rates, said the forum basically gave voters a reasonable indication of the direction in which the candidates want to go.

For Wendy Groat, it was promising to hear the candidates refer to the need for change, but there were a few standard answers thrown in there as well.

"I think most of them were giving answers that you were expecting to hear," she said. "One of the candidates, I noticed, was a little radical and gave some interesting comments, which was refreshing."

Mitch Gast, on the other hand, found few redeeming qualities among any of the candidates.

"It's too bad, there's obviously no real choice there," he said, adding that none of the three nominees had anything new to offer. "It's a shame, it is a real shame. I almost sat there and cried ... It's terrible."

Herb Norwegian, who queried the candidates about the GNWT acting as an administrative arm of DIAND, said many people have given up on voting in territorial elections. His question, even though it has been asked for years, put the candidates in an "awkward position," he acknowledged.

"They made every attempt to deal with it," he said. "I think they gave it their best shot. I think the one who came closest was Jim Antoine."

Chris Pinckard said the chamber of commerce deserves credit for putting the forum together, but he felt it started too late and ran too long.

"You can't drag it out. People want to go in and get the straight goods and then get on with life and go home," he said.

As for the theme of change, Pinckard said the word he's hearing on the street is that change is what people want the most because things have been so stagnant.

"Nothing's happening. There's no one working, nothing's happening. It's dead," he said, adding that he was most impressed by Paul Gammon's attitude.

Tim McLelland, who was particularly interested in issues relating to small businesses and health care, said the exercise was useful in showcasing the candidates' platforms.

"I thought it was great to actually have a forum, we're almost American," he said with a laugh. "It was very informative."

The only drawback was that he still had a number of questions remaining after the forum drew to a close.

"Unfortunately, the set-up of it was you could ask one question but you weren't allowed any kind of rebuttal," he said.