By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Inititive reporter

Bancroft mayoral candidate Brad Sinclair explained his decision to forgo the all candidates meeting being held at the Bancroft
Brewing Co. on Sept. 9 from 7 to 10 p.m. in a Facebook posting on Sept. 2. The three other mayoral candidates; Tracy
McGibbon, Josh MacDonald, and Mark Pharand respond to Sinclair's video explanation as to why he won't attend.
Sinclair posted a video to his Facebook page on Sept. 2 explaining his decision not to attend the all-candidates meeting at
Bancroft Brewing Co., saying that there were two main reasons why.
“My first reason comes down to integrity. No matter what the consequences are and it may have on my campaign, I simply do
not feel like it's appropriate for a private business owned by the immediate family of one of the highest paid municipal officials
in Bancroft. This is someone that is earning over $105,000 a year on the public dollar. And I just don't that these people should
be holding this event. To me this presents a significant conflict of interest and an appearance of bias. Candidates need to be
comfortable speaking candidly about local administration, management, and municipal budgets. That becomes almost
impossible in the venue that is tied directly to the senior municipal official's family. Beyond that it creates an influencing
opportunity that other local businesses and ratepayers just do not have in Bancroft and Dungannon. They just simply don't have
access to it and it's simply not fair. From what I see on the surface of local politics, there is an influence from a select few. That
is not how council should work. It should work for all of us,” he says.
Lark Krupa is the co-owner, management and event coordinator with The Bancroft Brewing Co and said that she had no
comment as the event is not tied to the owners or the brewery, and that Michelle Sommerville is the host of the event.
“We were asked to use our space to host an event for the people of Bancroft. We wish all the candidates luck.
Cheers!” she says.
Sinclair said that the second reason he's not attending on Sept. 9 comes down to accessibility and fairness, explaining that a
pub is a great place to socialize but it is the wrong venue for a political forum. “Using a licenced venue excludes voters under
the drinking age, those avoiding alcohol for personal or religious reasons, and people recovering from addiction. Town halls or
theatres offer neutral ground and full physical accessibility where a private business gains an unfair commercial exposure while
creating unnecessary barriers for voters. I realize I might be stepping on some toes with this stance, but I really don't care. I'll
be honest with you, it's not what I am about. I'm going to do what I believe it right over doing what everybody else is doing
when it feels wrong. I will, however, be attending the BBIA Mayoral Candidates debate which is going to be held at the
[Bancroft Village] Playhouse [on Sept. 28]. That event is being held in a proper, neutral and fully accessible location where
every voice can be seen and hear without inside influence. I look forward to seeing you there,” he says.
McGibbon told The Bancroft Times that Sinclair is entitled to make his own decision about whether to attend on Sept. 9.
“I can only speak for myself. I've accepted the invitation because I believe voters deserve opportunities to meet the
candidates, ask questions and hear where we stand on the issues. My focus will be meeting residents, listening to their
concerns, and talking about the future of Bancroft,” she says.
The municipal official mentioned by Pharand was “unable to comment at this time” when contacted by The Bancroft Times
and cited the Town's code of conduct and social media policy as it relates to staff and elected officials.
“[It] prevents us from making personal comments about town related business on any social media post unless done in the
context of an official statement from the Town of Bancroft social media account.”
MacDonald said that he understands Sinclair's point of view but I see a business trying to get the community together which
is good. I might reach out to them to see if they won't serve alcohol that night so maybe Sinclair would join us.
I think it would be open to a lot more people and with alcohol it would sway people's opinions and loosen their tongues and
that we don't need. We want people to be coherent in what they're saying and get their point across. I know [Sinclair's] point of
view and we want younger voters and people to be part of the community. They had the initiative to help so the way he talked
about them I don't think was very respectful. And perhaps we could have more events in the coming weeks, more community
based, in addition to this one and the one at the playhouse, which is crammed. Not everybody can meet in the evenings, and it's
important people have multiple opportunities to ask us questions until the poll date [on Oct. 26]. Not all people know what I'm
doing right now; I want to be the voice of the town and I want whomever is chosen for mayor to be the best person to step
forward and there are a lot of people in town and a lot of grey areas that need to be addressed. It's not that I'm not going to go
[if alcohol is served] but I might not stay as long because of it. I'm not really a drinker. If it works, I will go. I'm not going to
not let the town see my face. But there's a certain standard that we should follow and then party afterwards. Once I get talking
face to face with the other candidates, maybe I can convince them to do a few more meetings and we can field as many
questions as possible. Because we are role models for the town and I'm a big believer in showing people what I can do and lead
by example,” he says.
Pharand told The Bancroft Times that he was surprised at Sinclair's position and that he's gone this way, and that he
understands that people may or may not attend certain events for various reasons.
“As a candidate for mayor, I have to look at where my constituents are going to be and as a potential candidate I want to be
able to speak to as may folks that want to ask me questions so I go there an answer the questions. He brought up a couple of
interesting things about integrity and the business owners, and then accessibility and fairness.
When we talk about the integrity stuff, as a member running for municipal office, you have to have integrity and hold yourself
to the highest standard and that's so important and that's what I plan on doing. I would not want to jeopardize who I am to go to
an event that I would not want to go and those events would be very specific and I would have to take a measured approach to
that. I have to say when we compare the Bancroft Brewing Co and the [Bancroft Village] Playhouse, they're very similar in
nature. The playhouse is licenced like the brewery, the brewery and the playhouse both have accessibility. The playhouse has
less accessibility because the brewery is on one level and flat. Children and adults can go to both as the brewery is a restaurant so it's an all ages thing. If you choose to drink water or pop or other beverages, you have to do it legally. And that would be the
same at the playhouse where they do have a licence to issue those things too. Brad spoke about senior management at the town
and I understand that he has an issue with senior management being related to somebody at the brewery but I don't believe they
own any portion or have anything to do with the brewery. If we look at the playhouse, a senior manager at the Town of
Bancroft is also very well integrated in with the playhouse, and that question has to come up too and I don't understand why
that hasn't been brought up. I have no issues with it and no concerns about it. Folks can come to these events and attend or
not,” he says. “I want to be there as a candidate to be able to speak to individuals that want to talk to me.”