UPDATE: Thanks to @Jeremy for the link to this mayoral candidate forum on NewTV
The primary elections are coming up. When will we get to see debates between candidates for mayor and for contested City Council seats?
While a website (if it exists) provides some information, I want to hear candidates discuss how they differ from each other, how their approaches to achieving goals may differ on outcomes they agree on, and how they do answering extemporaneous questions.
The League of Women Voters will be holding candidate forums for all contested races.
@Marcia Johnson – when will they be? The preliminary election is just 2 weeks from now.
The Four Area Councils will be holding candidate showcases/debates for all contested November races in late October.
Sallee. You just beat me to the punch on posting this by less than 15 minutes. We’re putting together an unbiased, informative and carefully crafted set of debates that will be openly transparent and fair to all candidates. We hope that all candidates will participate in what has become a gala end of campaign season event for voters across the political spectrum. Stay tuned for time, date and details.
But what about before the preliminaries? Or has everyone decided those don’t count?
Without a website the third candidate for mayor, there is NO way for me to get any information about the candidate. So, the vote for me is easy. I can’t vote for any one who I don’t know his or her view on anything (education, infrastructure, large developments, senior center, new pool). Literally know NOTHING about the candidate.
@Meredith. For area councils, setting these debates up involves a time consuming and delicate set of tasks in order to be fair to all candidates and otherwise maintain our own credibility. It’s tough enough pulling off just the general election and we focus on that, in part, because most voters aren’t paying attention until well into October and I don’t think a mayoral preliminary debate this time around would have moved the needle much, if at all. But, I’m a member of the Highlands Area Council and will be happy to raise the issue of contingency debates for future preliminary contests.
I seem to recall debates when it was Scott/Amy/Ruthanne competing for Mayor. I think the VOLUNTEERS who put on debates make judgements as to the need for the preliminary. No disrespect to the current candidates for mayor, but if they didn’t like not having an initial debate, any of them could have vocally objected. I’ve heard no such objection.
What Bob Burke said. This year, with the burdens of the pandemic and general fatigue, preparing for a Preliminary seemed to arrive too soon to be adequately carried out. The Four Area Councils are going to bring a fair, transparent and informational debate to the competitive races in November as they have done in the past. As has Bob Burke, I have worked on all the Four Area Council Showcases. They take time, careful preparation, a mandate for fairness and a mission to elicit candidate answers to issue-based questions for the voters to consider when pulling the (now-mythical) lever. To be done “right”, this takes an investment of a lot of time and homework.
@Bob and @Sallee – I wasn’t saying the Area Councils are remiss. They aren’t the only ones who put on debates. I was just generally noting the lack of any public forums.
Village 14 should sponsor a mayoral debate.
The Charles River Regional Chamber is looking forward to hosting a virtual mayoral debate on Thursday Oct. 14 at 9 a.m. Make plans to call in sick from work that morning now.
@Mike Striar – it looks like there already will be plenty of debates before the November election. My concern is that I haven’t yet heard of any details about a debate between the three mayoral candidates before the Sept Preliminary Election in a few weeks.
Here is a debate: https://vimeo.com/595302743
Jeremy for the Win!
Newton could use a couple of extra debates in 2021. COVID makes it very hard for challengers to campaign in general. It’s a huge advantage for incumbents.
Frankly, the League of Women Voters runs stuffy debates. They’re usually very polite affairs, and neither candidate gets an opportunity to really challenge their opponent. Personally, [as a veteran of 3 mayoral debates myself], I would recommend debates that give candidates an opportunity to question and respond to each other. I think the dialogue would be extraordinarily revealing, and the public deserves to see how candidates handle that type of forum.
@Mike Striar, i happened to enjoy watching that League debate. I appreciate cordiality in Mayoral debates as I don’t think ad hominem attacks have any place in local politics. It showcases more of what we the people care about when the debates are heavy on policy. One thing I did notice from the League debate though, is that while I appreciate many of Amy’s concerns, her solutions seem to have been done by the Mayor and her administration. Newton already has its own forms of a small business liaison and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion liaison. I’m undecided at this point, but would have to be swayed by some truly creative ideas to vote against the Mayor.
Okay, I am confused. It sounds like no one except jeremy, arguably among the most engaged, knew this debate took place. The moderator references questions from the audience. Who submitted questions? And why was this limited to 45 minutes
@Don, I’m confused by what you’re saying – there’s already been a debate for the upcoming election?
@Don S
I’m going out on a limb here… Guessing that vanilla is your favorite flavor, and that you usually vote for incumbents in local elections?
To my mind, the public is best served when they have the most possible knowledge about all the candidates. You don’t get that kind of depth from campaign literature and softball “debate” questions. Giving candidates an opportunity to actually question each other and respond directly, would reveal a lot of details the voters have no other way of learning.
@MMQC – Jeremy linked to a forum among the mayoral candidates on NewTV that already happened. I’ve added the link to my post at the top.
Room Rater
Ruthanne Fuller 9/10. Nice family photos, book shelf and Newton poster. Well framed. Missing a plant or fresh flowers
Amy Sangiolo. 0/10. Nothing in back ground ! No style or personal warmth at all
Albert Cecchinelli 4/10 music cd collection, nice colored wall and well framed. Reflection on glasses took off points
Ah ha. Now that I’ve watched some of the debate, I have to agree with Mike Striar. That felt more like a series of interviews than a true debate.