[

In his comment attached to a post concerning Port of Hope, Dan Gookin said there was really no opportunity to comment and elaborate on our OpenCdA poll question concerning the Coeur Group’s handling of the CdA Candidate Forum..  Dan was right (I hate it when that happens, but he was).  So this is your opportunity.  Take the poll, then come here to comment on the Coeur Group’s forum.  Dan’s comments below are a good starting point, but don’t be afraid to deviate from our Poll questions and mention what you liked or didn’t like about the Forum.

1. I’m putting this here because there’s no other relevant topic:

   Regarding the OpenCDA Poll.

   I like the way the Coeur Group conducts the forums. They’re professional and respectful. I like that they pay attention and do follow-up questions. These are probably the best moderated forums I’ve seen in local politics, but they’re still forums.

   I’d rather see a debate. I want to see interaction between the candidates. I want to see them throw issues at each other, pointed questions. Forums tend to be commercials, with few surprises and generally middle-of-the-road answers. Unless someone really steps in it — which I don’t think I’ve ever seen in a forum — everyone walks away thinking their guy did a good job and all that. But a debate would be different. It would demonstrate quick thinking, the ability to take an unfriendly question, and show how a potential official acts under pressure. I don’t see much of that in a forum, but once these people get elected you’ll see it often. That should really be the metric by which we judge the candidates.

   Comment by Dan Gookin — October 3, 2013 @ 5:15 pm |Edit This