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Most of the questions were long-winded, but intelligent enough. The leaders of the city's civic unions had hastily arranged a question-and-answer session inside the barn-like building at Exhibition Park. Saint John mayoral candidates Ivan Court, Norm McFarlane and John Ferguson were on the hot seat, Michelle Hooton and Mike Richardson no shows. Three hundred union members were pumped to hear some answers to their concerns.

Too bad the moderator on Wednesday evening decided he was as important as the candidates. As they politely watched, Mike Davidson, a regional representative with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, couldn't stop himself from going off on soliloquies - rants, to be more precise - or badgering Ferguson after his answers.

Davidson is the son of Bob Davidson, the retired union official who probably helped make more gains for Saint John's civic employees than anybody else. The father is personable and persuasive, and can argue his positions thoughtfully.

His son should try to emulate him better.

At one point, Sgt. Kim Phillips, the head of the police union, asked the candidates if they'd support switching the city employees' pension plan to a municipal bylaw, rather than leave the legislation under provincial control. Part two was: how would a municipal bylaw help the plan?

Good questions. All three candidates said they didn't support switching it to a bylaw and told the crowd their pensions were safe.

Ferguson, who's being sued by McFarlane and the rest of the pension board - including CUPE representatives - for alleged defamation, had a few pointed comments.

The city councillor told the crowd he's a provincial employee in his day job and pays into a similar defined benefit plan. However, his monthly payments are far lower, he said, while his benefits are pretty much the same. He argued the city's plan had to be re-examined to make sure it had no holes and called again for an independent, third-party review.

Davidson couldn't let it go. Instead of moderating, he butt in, saying the pension plan already had plenty of third-party reviews because it's examined by a professional actuary every three years, money managers and lawyers.

He didn't mention that it has had a severe deficit for seven straight years - aside from two whole days it had a surplus - and cost taxpayers $18 million extra. That works out to about $265 for every person who lives in Saint John, many of whom are poor or seniors on fixed incomes.

Davidson then questioned why Ferguson would want to model the city's pension plan on the Canada Pension Plan, which gives people a pension based on a career average rather than the top three salary-earning years.

Ferguson coolly replied that he wanted the city's pension plan to model the national pension's investment strategies.

"It has nothing to do with benefits."

Davidson's response? "I guess that's fear-mongering," before jumping to the next question.

Later, the president of the city's outside workers' union, Mike Montgomery, asked Ferguson why he was open to public-private partnerships for the city's water system. Another good question.

The candidate said he wasn't in favour of such partnerships - instead, he was open to examining them. He also took exception to the union's circulating an e-mail to its members that stated Ferguson and other candidates were in favour of privatizing water.

"I thought that was an unfair appeal," said Ferguson. "No one from the union called me to hear my point of view. I felt it wasn't right, that they put that in without asking me my opinion."

Davidson shot in with another harangue. Ferguson wouldn't back down and mentioned he had a copy of the e-mail and would be happy to circulate it to any media that wanted to see it.

Caught like a trussed calf, Davidson ignored Ferguson and started braying instead. The word "media" was his exit card and he began raving about a recent "faceless editorial" in the Telegraph-Journal entitled "Don't drink CUPE's Kool-Aid."

"What we need is an election on this newspaper!" he cried.

It's one thing to tell people what to read and whom to vote for. It's another for a union leader to expose his insecurities by insulting the intelligence of those he purports to represent - and the majority of voters who have little time for his rants.

John Chilibeck is a Telegraph-Journal reporter. He writes about issues that affect the Saint John region. He can be reached at chilibeck.john@telegraphjournal.com or by calling 645-3267.