Mayor Mussallem warns of inexperience of rivals as campaign heads into November

Mayor Jack Mussallem once again took to the pages of the weekly newspaper on Wednesday, continuing on with his theme of experience and the risks of changing the city's leadership when election day arrives on November 15th.

Mr. Mussallem reminded those browsing through the ads of the paper, that no other Mayoralty Candidate has held the Mayor's office and stressed, though not by name, that one candidate in particular has "never been elected to council".

And while it seems obvious that one target of the ad was relative newcomer to local politics Lee Brain, the sideswipe at the delay in the learning curve seems to be focused on both Sheila Gordon-Payne and Tony Briglio.

Regardless, we imagine that when Tuesday's City Council Forum at the Lester Centre comes around, all three will be quick to address that particular theme of the Mayor's approach to the campaign. Most likely to perhaps review their own resumes and to remind him that they haven't exactly just fallen off the pumpkin truck.

On the theme of not having experience at the top job of local elected office, the Mayor asked the voters to consider one thing, "Can our City at this time withstand the delay while one of them learns?"

Another point that Mayor Mussallem stressed in his ad was the need to "Protect our City With Good Government and Proven Leadership." In addition, he highlights his knowledge, experience and solid performance as Mayor as his major push for the voters.

The latest in a series of ads for
Mayor Jack Mussallem

For those looking for the Cole's Notes on that experience, Mr. Muassallem has served as Mayor of Prince Rupert from 1996-1999 and again from 2009-13, and features a resume of work in local government for close to three decades.

A helpful review of his work and that of the current council can be found on our City Council archive page.

The Mayor wrapped up his print presentation with a call for the voters to re-elect him advising as to how "he has the knowledge and experience which makes him the most capable candidate".

With three challengers currently staking out their positions on a variety to topics so far, it would seem that the Mayors positioning points may be put to the test as we head into the final few weeks of the campaign.

You can review some of his previous discussion points as delivered through his advertising campaign from our item of September 4th.

For more items on the 2014 Municipal Election campaign see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review