Mayoral candidates trade views in Chamber of Commerce debate

October 23, 2026 · 0 Comments

By KATHRYN FRASER

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Caledon Chamber of Commerce hosted the third mayoral debate ahead of Monday’s municipal election at Caesar’s Centre on October 19.

The event was the final debate for all residents to hear from mayoral candidates before election day on October 26.

Mayoral Candidates Christina Early, Alan Hart, Mario Russo. Jagdeep Sacha and Manjit Bhondhi Saini were all in attendance.

Chamber Board member Hazel Piacentini served as moderator for the event and provided an opening statement where she thanked everyone for attending and went through the ground rules for the debate.

All candidates started with two-minute opening remarks before Piacentini began with questions.

Candidates were given 90 seconds to respond to each question and after each candidate had answered there was an opportunity for candidates to rebut their opponent’s response and 30 seconds for the opponent to respond to the rebut.

To keep time when a candidate had 30 seconds left, a card saying 30 seconds was displayed by the timekeeper and when they were over the allotted time a red card was issued.

Piacentini had a total of three core business questions for the mayoral candidates to answer.

One main question that stood out asked candidates, “Caledon Council has experienced public disagreements and controversies surrounding major decisions. The Mayor’s role is not simply to lead the Council meetings; it is to establish a high-performing team that has a culture and accountability, collaboration and respect. All five of you are seeking to lead our Town Council, potentially alongside Councilors with whom you have publicly disagreed. What are three specific measurable outcomes you commit to achieving as mayor to restore public confidence in Town Council, and if you fail to deliver them, how should we, the public hold you accountable?”

Candidate Early expressed that she rwants to make sure that every voice is heard on the Council table. She reiterated that each Councillor’s voice is a representative of the people. Early said she wants to have a more collaborative approach on the bench and focus on business that’s moving the Town forward as opposed to continued political motions or political mandates that don’t move business of the town forward. Early said she believes that as the Mayor, as a person that’s actually chairing the meeting, it is important to ensure that business is moving ahead.

She explained she felt this term of Council spent too much time going through items that were not necessarily even needed to be on the table and expressed that Council never needs to be in Chambers until 2:00 a.m., and that it happened too often with the current Council.

Candidate Hart said taking on the role as head of Council he would make sure that Councillors do their jobs properly, honestly and looking out for their residents. He also expressed that he would make sure he does his job and will have Councillors hold him accountable, keep him on the straight-and-narrow, and make sure residents are put first.

He pledged to hold rotating monthly meetings in different Wards for all residents to come and share their concerns and thoughts.

Candidate Russo said he wants to be the Captain of Council. He said he wants to work collaboratively with his colleagues and thinks that there needs to be more face-to-face interactions with residents.

Russo said Council needs to get out and away from Town Hall and into Caledon’s villages and hamlets. He said he is committed to coming out and working with Local and Regional Councillors to get out into the Town at least quarterly and to hear from residents more frequently.

Russo said he wants more back and forth collaboration, accountability, and transparency for residents on the decisions being made, along with cost and time frames for decisions. He expressed that if people do not like Council decisions they have the power to vote them out.

Candidate Sacha said he wants to prioritize the needs and demands of residents. Sacha said he wants residents to not have to go through as many obstacles and that Caledon needs a team to work on issues and find solutions with the people of the community.

Sacha expressed that he wants to listen, understand and work together to have a transparent Town Council. He said he wants to work for the employment generation, kids and to the hardworking Italian-Canadian Caledon community. He added there needs to be benefits for hardworking residents and that Council needs to work with educated people who know planning and want to step in, work together and make a beautiful Town.

Candidate Manjit said he wants to run a united and respectful Council where conflict is reduced, everyone receives the same information honestly, and understand the goals to make sure residents feel heard. He said he wants to meet regularly with Councillors, hold open discussions, and address disagreements early.

Manjit said that everyone may not always agree, but disagreements can be respectful and focus should be kept on finding a solution. Discussion, he said, should be based on evidence, public consultation and what is best for Caledon, not personalized or political success. Manjit added he wants to keep residents his first priority and that there should be no conflict at all.

Once all three questions were answered, candidates were given the opportunity to give their closing remarks and then the floor was opened for residents to ask questions to the candidates.

Residents lined up behind a microphone and were given 30 seconds to ask their questions. The same rules for candidates stayed the same as the original questions.

The debate wrapped with Piacentini thanking all attendees and candidates for attending and participating in the debate, and reminded voters to vote on Election Day on October 26.

To watch the full debate, visit the Caledon Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

Those looking for information about the election and where to vote can visit www.caledon.ca/en/government/election-landing-page.aspx.