Aurora Votes 2026: Debate, all-candidates meeting locked in for municipal election

Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran

The ballots are locked in, candidates are knocking on doors, and further opportunities to hear from those looking to earn Aurora’s mayoral chains or a place at the Council table have been finalized ahead of the October 26 municipal election.

The first all-candidates meeting – a traditional-style debate and meet-and-greet is set for Thursday, October 1, organized by community ratepayers’ groups at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #385, from 6.30 – 9.30 p.m.

“The event will provide Aurora residents with an opportunity to hear directly from the Mayoral candidates seeking election using a traditional debate format,” say organizers Aurora Ratepayers. “The event is open to Aurora residents, with online registration required in advance. Non-registered residents will be admitted if the capacity of the facility has not been reached.”

The evening will begin with a meet-and-greet with all candidates from 6.30 – 7 p.m., with the Mayoral debate, moderated by Stephen Boyne, President of the Aurora branch of the Royal Canadian Legion to ensure the event remains non-partisan, slated to take place between 7 – 8 p.m.

A half-hour Town Hall Question Period will follow, with the last hour switching back over to a meet-and-greet format.

The next opportunities are both hosted by the Aurora Public Library on Sunday, October 4.

The first session is a one-hour informal meet-and-greet with all municipal candidates from 1 – 2 p.m., before the formal All-Candidates Meeting takes over the David De Simone Performance Hall at Aurora Town Square.

“For more than 40 years, Aurora Public Library has hosted all-candidates meetings as part of its commitment to civic engagement, public education, and access to information,” said the Aurora Public Library in a statement. “The Library’s role is to provide residents with neutral, accessible opportunities to learn about the candidates seeking office and to support informed participation in the democratic process. The Library does not endorse, support, or oppose any candidate, political party, platform, or position.”

The Aurora Public Library’s events, however, might be the only debate-like setting where residents will be able to hear from incumbent mayoral candidate Tom Mrakas.

Mrakas indicated in a social media statement on Friday that he would not be attending the ratepayer-organized event.

The Library’s event, he said, “is a cornerstone of a municipal election campaign for decades.

“Hosted by a respected community institution, it is a professionally organized, non-partisan forum that features thoughtful, challenging, and unbiased questions. It provides candidates with an opportunity to share their vision for Aurora, discuss their record, and outline the priorities and decisions that will shape our community’s future,” said Mrakas in his August 30 statement.

“With respect to other debates hosted by other community groups, these forums are typically ward-focused or issue-specific, often concentrating on neighbourhood concerns or areas of interest rather than providing a forum to discuss Town-wide priorities. They can provide a valuable opportunity for Ward Councillor candidates to discuss and debate the local issues most important to the residents they seek to represent.

“As in the last election cycle, I will be enthusiastically participating in the Aurora Public Library mayoral debate, which has long provided a trusted, community-wide, and non-partisan forum for voter engagement. Beyond that debate, I will continue focusing on what has guided my approach for the past eight years: meeting residents where they are, knocking on doors, listening to their concerns, and having meaningful conversations about Aurora’s future.”

Event organizer Linda Durringer of the Town Park Area Ratepayers Association says she hopes Mrakas will change his mind and stresses the event is non-partisan and will cover issues relevant to the entire community.

Durringer says the Ratepayers Groups came together to host a formal debate-style evening after community organizations that had previously done so opted not to for this municipal election.

“I think everyone deserves to be able to ask a question and get answers,” she says. “We want to talk.”

While Durringer says the final list of questions is yet to be finalized, some of the areas the collective groups would like to explore include community safety, housing and urban development, Strong Mayor Powers, fiscal responsibility, economic development, infrastructure, operations, heritage, Council leadership, and Regional Representation.

“These are all ratepayers, they are taxpayers, and we would love him to be there,” says Durringer of Mrakas’ decision. “We want to hear what [all mayoral candidates’] responses are. I want everyone to be there. This is about the Town of Aurora, it’s not about ward issues.”

While there are, of course, Ward-specific issues, the areas they would like to talk about are broad and applicable across the community, says Durringer.

While they hope to get all candidates to the meeting, they also hope it will help drive more eligible voters to the polls.

“I would love for the whole community to come out – and not having just such a dismal showing at the polls,” she says. Everybody has to go out and vote and they have to understand what is happening. Get involved with the community, look at it, read about it. You don’t have to be on a committee to be able to have a say in the community; you just have to be a part of it.”

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