On Apr 19, 2005, at 4:09 PM, Pamela Taylor wrote:
List Member,
Yes, me again! What if there is no endorsement at the convention and everyone decides to hang in there? Then there will be still be nine left.
True, but we don't know that. We can at least minimize the difficulties for the first forum.
And, why let so many months pass in between the forums?
Because there are only so many hours in the day — for us and for voters. Most members of the public only tune in close to a vote...in this case, April and September.
The last 30 minutes, in which people will be milling around is new. It sounded much more formal before, in which we would all still be in our seats, and all nine candidates would be asked questions. Funny how this thing is taking shape isn't it? Had I not posted, I doubt we would have known that fact.
I think Pam might have made an incorrect assumption. It was always planned to be the way I described, in countless e-mails and newspaper announcements.
IMHO (again), I suggest having a series of serious community roundtables, which will focus on just one or two topics per roundtable, that are vital issues for the 8th Ward. It is sometimes hard to get a true read on candidates when they give you rehearsed blurbs in forums. As they are conducted now, there is no time to really get into a topic, because the moderator has to keep things moving. So, everyone then tends to give us variations of the same blurb.
True, perhaps. We're hoping we can break through the blurbs with good audience questions and follow-ups, and good moderation. In any event, the "blurb" problem is worse at a forum with many more candidates, which is what Pam originally suggested.
By having the roundtables, candidates will need to possess at least an hour's worth of knowledge about a topic to keep our interest in their candidacy, and will be given a chance to convince us further that it is more than just surface knowledge. We could have enough roundtables to keep them on their toes. I believe it is a much better way to winnow the field and get a view into their political character, backbones, etc. than by the current methods.
Go for it! We don't have enough time to commit to that, but we don't have a monopoly on forum organizing, either.
I do wonder how many people would show up at multiple hour-long forums featuring nine candidates, though.
David Brauer Kingfield Editor, SW Journal and Skyway News
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