Only one candidate shows up for West Kelowna election debate

What was originally intended to be an all-candidates debate in West Kelowna Wednesday evening didn’t quite turn out as planned when only one candidate showed up.

Stephen Johnston was initially running under the BC United banner in West Kelowna-Peachland and chose to keep his name on the ballot and run as an independent after the party dropped out of the race.

When it became apparent he was going to be the only candidate present, the event — which was hosted by the Greater Westside Board of Trade and Peachland Chamber of Commerce — went on as-is.

“So we kind of, I thought, pivoted real quick,” Johnston told 1130 NewsRadio.

“I was sitting behind the table with two empty chairs beside me and the name tags, and I just said to the moderator, so do you mind if I grab a stool and just pull it up front? So I just put a stool up in one table, and kind of sat there, more town-hall style.”

Johnston says he’s disappointed he was the only one up there answering questions, saying debates provide a rare opportunity for voters to see what candidates are like in real life.

“This is a part of the process; a debate is really sort of a trial run [asking] hey, can this person handle themselves in front of the camera, in front of press, you know, with questions that come in unscripted,” he said.

“And to not participate in that — I think it’s really a disservice to the electorate. It’s very disrespectful to the process.”

In spite of the no-shows, Johnston says he thinks the event went really well, saying the community response was positive.

“There was a lot of feedback and a lot of interactivity. We didn’t do Q & A from the floor, because that wasn’t part of the scheduled program,” he said.

“But all in all, it was about 30 minutes, and it was a really great evening.”

He says he stayed around for an hour after the event answering questions.

“We had quite a lineup of people that formed at the front there to chat.”

Johnston says this was the only planned debate for the riding, and he had heard the day before that the other two candidates might not be there.

“I thought, I really hope there is, because that’s really a cornerstone of democracy,” he said.

Johnston says organizers heard the BC NDP candidate for the riding, Krystal Smith, was sick. BC Conservative Candidate Macklin McCall spent the day “door-knocking,” according to his social media, but it is unclear whether or not this is why he didn’t appear at the event.

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the BC NDP and the BC Conservatives for comment.