Housekeeping

MEDIA RELEASE

Moderators Announced for October 14-15 Cobourg Debates 2026 Some free tickets still available

(October 8, 2026- For Immediate Release)

Organizers are pleased to announce that well-known Cobourg volunteers Bob Marr and Tammy Browes-Bugden will serve as moderators for the upcoming Cobourg Debates. Marr will handle the Candidates for Council debate on October 14, while Browes- Dugden will moderate the Mayor and Deputy Mayor debate on October 15.

While there is a waiting list for free tickets for the Mayoral and Deputy debate, there are still some tickets available for the Councillor debate. Residents can get tickets or get on the waiting list at www.cobourgdebates2026.ca which will livestream the debates. The debates will also be streamed live on You Tube at: https://www.youtube.com/@cobourgdebates

Along with a career in senior consulting providing support to organizations in Canada and abroad, Bob Marr’s decades of civic leadership and service in Cobourg include his involvement with Rotary, Cobourg Downtown Business Improvement Association, Junior Achievement, Kinsmen, Cobourg Heritage Committee and as Chair of the Cobourg Committee of Adjustment for almost a decade. He is also founder of the Buttermilk Café.

Tammy Browes-Bugden, who moderated the Hamilton Township Municipal Candidates Debate last month, was a senior executive with the Ontario Public Service, and served for nine years as Director of the Corporate Services Branch for the Criminal Law Division of the Ministry of the Attorney General. Since retiring to Cobourg four years ago, Tammy volunteers as an Executive Committee member of the Cobourg Lawn Bowling Club, Vice-President of the West Northumberland Curling Club, a Board Director with the Marie Dressler Foundation, and Chair of the Marketing Committee for the Vintage Film Festival.

Along with CFUW-Northumberland who has partnered in presenting the debates, the citizens group organizing the events also extends thanks to the Cobourg Lions Club for their support in hosting the two debates.

Housekeeping

Putting on a community debate involves more than microphones and questions.

The Why

We wanted to share how and why these debates came about.

When Maria decided to move forward and organize the Cobourg Debates, She had one very clear goal: to create another space where Cobourg voters could hear directly from the people asking for their vote and walk away better informed when it comes time to mark their ballot.

Community engagement, accessible information and creating those spaces have long been important to Maria. She believes voters benefit from having different opportunities to hear from candidates, ask questions and make their own informed decisions. And these debates will be another opportunity for voters to learn.

From the outset, she was committed to organizing these debates thoughtfully and responsibly. She sought guidance from journalists, political commentators, former elected officials and others with extensive experience in public debate and democratic processes, including a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. People she could learn more from and ask questions. She put out a call for folks to join her and quickly group of community members come together to help build them. We have an experienced debate coach from TCS as our advisor, we have been engaging with respected former working journalists from outside Cobourg in our search for a strong moderator, and seasoned Toastmasters will be managing the timing.

Most importantly, the questions are coming from Cobourg voters. We have a form (insert Link here) created where you can submit the questions you want for those seeking the roles of Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors. Those submissions will be used to identify the issues, concerns and priorities that will shape the final questions candidates are asked on debate night. There is a lot involved in creating this format and those doing that job take it seriously.

We appreciate all those supporting these debates by sending in their questions, and we look forward to receiving more. We encourage you to look at our FAQ page often as we are identifying questions that folks have and adding them to that page.

This forum is for the voters that want a space like this to help them make their own decision, and we are excited to be building it for all of us.

What it Costs

We’ve been asked a number of times: Who is covering the cost of the Cobourg Debates? The short answer is: the committee members. We did try to ask for the council to wave the costs of the debate, however they unanimously voted to send it back to staff for review. Maybe 2030?

As community-led initiative, and the costs of putting on the debates are being covered by members of the volunteer committee.

We are thankful for the discounts we have received so far. We’ve also had generous members of the community offer to contribute toward some of the expenses, which we greatly appreciate.

All expenses and contributions for these debates will be made public through this living document.

We are committed to putting on an event that reflects how much we value Cobourg’s electoral process, one that is professional, accessible, non-partisan and worthy of the candidates and residents who participate.

Thank you to everyone who has offered their time, support and encouragement. It truly is a community effort.

Do you want to help out with the event? Send us a message at team@cobourgdebates2026.ca and we can let you know how you can help.