Snow, Stewart make their cases for becoming Summerside's next mayor

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — They may have disagreed on many things, but both men vying to become Summerside’s next mayor concurred that the coming election will be a consequential one for the city.

Summerside faces a rapidly growing population after decades of stagnation, with all the challenges and opportunities that come with it.

The city is seeing sharply rising costs of providing services, along with a need to secure the future of its “golden goose,” Summerside Electric.

There is also an ongoing debate over city communication and transparency. All this against a backdrop of a nation where everyday costs are rising faster than most families can sustainably keep up.

Deputy Mayor Cory Snow and former mayor Basil Stewart hashed out those topics and more during the city’s only scheduled mayoral debate for the upcoming municipal election.

The event, which took place Oct. 18 at the College of Piping, was presented by the Greater Summerside Chamber of Commerce. It was also broadcast on the chamber’s Facebook page and a recording is available there.

Snow and Stewart are both experienced municipal politicians, so both had a lot to say. They have also served on council together in the past.

Snow was first elected in 2018 and has served two four-year terms as councillor for Ward 4, Clifton-Market, and the second also as deputy mayor.

Stewart has served a total of 33 years as the city’s mayor, between 1985 and 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022.

Snow focused many of his remarks on themes related to continuing to build on the work started under the previous council.

Much of that involved an emphasis on continuing to prioritize long-term planning, so the city is not just reacting to challenges as they pop up. He used housing as an example.

“So, when you’re doing something reactive, you’re really not planning very well and usually end up with a quicker move forward. That’s what we’ve been seeing lately is a lot of reactionary planning and development. We need to start planning further into the future and do it in a way that benefits our municipality,” said Snow.

He also spoke about the need to continue revitalizing the downtown core, a project he has taken a leadership position in during the last term. Rebuilding the downtown, he said, will continue the work of making Summerside a place that people want to be in, have fun in and spend money in.

Snow also said he has heard from many people at the doors that the city needs to revamp its modest public transit system.

“Young people are used to having cities where there is a transit system. They might not have a vehicle; they might not have the ability to get around town. Not only does that help our younger people, it also helps our seniors.”

Snow also took jabs at some of Stewart’s past record as mayor.

Meanwhile, Stewart presented himself as someone who has a record of securing opportunities for the city by lobbying and working with other levels of government.

“You can get things done by … meeting with the right people. I’ve learned over the years, and that’s one advantage of being around for a few years; I’ve lived through the trends. You learn what works and what doesn’t work. It’s a changing world, no question about that,” said Stewart.

“These next four years are going to be so important for the citizens of Summerside, with so many very, very important issues to discuss and debate and I want to be there at the table.”

Stewart spoke extensively about affordability issues, which he said are primarily what he has heard from residents while going door-to-door. He also stressed the need to find a solution for the residents of Evergreen Village trailer park, who are facing eviction.

Stewart also criticized changes the previous council made to the city’s zoning bylaws, which allow small multi-unit buildings in R1 single-family zoned lots as-of-right. It was a move intended to create more housing and ultimately bring down costs for renters, but which was opposed by some homeowners as being detrimental to their neighbourhoods and bad for property values.

As has been the case for many past election cycles, Summerside Electric-related issues loomed large over the evening’s discussions.

The municipally owned electric utility contributes millions of dollars annually to support local infrastructure and community programs. But it’s also becoming more costly to maintain in a time when electric demand is expected to continue increasing dramatically.

One of Stewart’s main topics he kept revisiting was that it’s time for the city to stop automatically following Maritime Electric’s rate increases, which has been a city policy for decades.

“The city should be setting its own rates,” said Stewart.

A comparatively lower electric rate will make the city more attractive to families and businesses, which will translate into a bigger tax base and offset the lost revenue, reasoned Stewart.

Snow agreed that a discussion could be had as to whether the city should continue following Maritime Electric’s rate increases, but he strongly cautioned against arbitrarily cutting the rate.

The city tried something like that years ago with the sewer rate, he said, and the result was that maintenance and upgrade work fell behind, and a hefty 12 per cent increase had to be implemented so the city could try and catch up.

He also called Stewart’s suggestion an old talking point that he brings up every election cycle to entice voters. Stewart maintained that holding the rate would be good for the city.

“There’s been 30 years of you saying the same thing,” said Snow. “The reality is, the electric rates, the money that comes in that is revenue goes into our general fund. All I’ve asked you, repeatedly, and through many budget deliberations that I’ve been through with you, I’ve not heard you once come up with a solution to these things you’re saying are a problem.”

“The electric rate being reduced is not a solution,” asked Stewart in counter.

“No, it is not,” said Snow.

“I’ve never heard you suggest it,” said Stewart.

“Because I’m a realist,” said Snow. “We have a municipality where we have to pay for things.”

Both candidates also agreed that finding a way to get Summerside Electric direct access to the subsea power cables connecting the P.E.I. and New Brunswick grids is a top priority.

The city currently pays Maritime Electric to use its system to import power. The city’s previous attempt, more than a decade ago, to get permission to do that was denied by the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

Former mayor Dan Kutcher maintained that the only way the city was going to get access to those cables was if the province stepped in to make it happen. To date, there has been no such commitment from the province.

Residents from nearly all P.E.I. municipalities go to the polls on Nov. 2 with some exceptions. Advance voting days are on Oct. 24, 26 and 30.

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Colin MacLean is the assistant managing editor at the Journal Pioneer in Summerside. He can be reached at cmaclean@postmedia.com and followed on X @JournalPMacLean.