ELECTION hopefuls fielded questions from South-East District residents at St Martin’s Parish Hall on Saturday.
The drop-in, the first of its kind, saw islanders queuing up for their chance to quiz prospective deputies before Wednesday’s election.
‘More or less, by going through their manifestos, I have made up my mind,’ said George Edwards, a retired builder from St Martin’s.
‘I have gone for a couple [of candidates] who have gone with common sense and with Guernsey issues. But I find that with the manifestos, you only needed to print one – they are virtually all the same.’
Mr Edwards’ wife Barbara, a retired civil servant, said the couple had attended the drop-in to tie up a few loose ends before deciding who would get their vote.
‘I’ll be going for anyone who tries to contain the problem of population growth because everything stems from that,’ said Mrs Edwards.
‘It is not sustainable to keep increasing the population – we can’t let the finance industry have their way and the solution is by issuing housing licences. Education, transport and health care are the big issues.’
She added that the drop-in was a very good idea, although she thought a time limit should have been imposed on each candidate.
‘If a space comes up with another candidate and you leave the queue, you lose your chance with the one you wanted to see in the first place,’ said Mrs Edwards.
But returning officer Barbara Herve said she was confident the system worked.
‘If somebody is asking interesting questions, then it is important that the discussion is given adequate time,’ she said. ‘There have been people here all the time and the candidates seem to be pleased with how the day has gone.’
Charles Parkinson did not attend, said Mrs Herve, and Vanessa Crispini-Adams had to leave early due to a prior commitment.
The other candidates are: Lorraine Marson, Janine Le Sauvage, Michael Hadley, Mike O’Hara, Robert Sillars, Francis Quin, Ivan Roberts, Tony Corbin and Rob Gregson.
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