Paul Fromm for Mayor of Mississauga
905-274-3868; fax: 905-278-2413
For Immediate Release
Fromm Excluded from Mississauga Mayoralty Debate
PORT CREDIT. October 5, 2010. Mississauga Mayoralty candidate Paul Fromm, who has made immigration control his key issue, was denied entry to an all candidates mayoralty debate tonight at Erindale College campus.
“Democracy took a kick in the head tonight at the hands of the organizers MIRANET, the Mississauga Residents Associations Network,” said Fromm, who was not the only candidate excluded by organizers backed up by security guards and police.
“There are 17 candidates for mayor. There were only six participants in this phony debate,” Fromm charged. “A number of us were excluded.”
“I indicated in a timely fashion that I would participate in the MIRANET debate, after the initial invitation,” Fromm recalls. “I did have some concerns about the overly restrictive rules and somewhat hazy format, but I signed the consent form to Rogers and the ‘unconditional’ agreement to the rules for the debate, duly included my 100 word introduction and the name of the one supporter who would be allowed by the MIRANET rules to accompany me and submitted all this to MIRANET early Monday morning. Actually, my computer has the message being sent at 1:24 a.m.” Mr. Fromm explains.
“I was still denied the right to participate on the basis that the consent did not use their exact language. My computer could not copy their text as it could the Rogers' consent form. So, I typed it up the best I could. My text was substantially the same as theirs and the intent was clear,” Mr. Fromm explains.
“As soon as I learned I'd been excluded, I appealed to MIRANET, re-did their consent form word for word and re-submitted it Monday night at 8:11 p.m. [Oops, I'd missed their deadline.] My intent was clear. As the hour for the debate approached, I hadn't even received the courtesy of a reply to my appeal,” Mr. Fromm adds.
“MIRAMET is guilty of blatant discrimination and utterly undemocratic behaviour. It was clear they looked for every excuse to exclude candidates and not just me,” Mr. Fromm charges.
“I endorse efforts by fellow mayoralty candidate Don Barber to organize a debate in which all candidates for mayor can appear and which operates under less constipated rules,” says Fromm. “Surely, we need more debate and discussion, not less.”
“I shall be asking Rogers Cable not to broadcast the MIRANET debate as it failed spectacularly to include all interested candidates. It does a disservice to Mississauga voters,” Mr. Fromm explains.
“In the alternative, I shall be asking Rogers to permit the excluded candidates to have air time to explain their positions for the voters of Mississauga,” the radio broadcaster and immigration expert adds.
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