Wednesday at 7 p.m. the first Democratic mayoral forum will take place at the Holiday Inn Downtown featuring Bill Finch, Joe Ganim and Mary-Jane Foster. Still awaiting word if Howard Gardner qualified for the ballot via petition effort. Charlie Coviello was notified on Friday he did not have the 1,900 validated signatures to make the ballot. Candidates appearing on the September 16 primary ballot will be included. About 300 have registered to attend the forum. Registration is closed. No walk-ins allowed. It will be broadcast live in English on Radio Cumbre 1450 AM. Nora Duncan, state director of AARP Connecticut, the debate sponsor, shares the forum rules.
All candidates who have qualified for the September Democratic Primary ballot have been invited to participate in the forum and were provided a copy of the rules in advance. The forum will be 90 minutes in length. The forum will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. The capacity for the event has been reached. Only registered and confirmed guests will be admitted.
No campaign/candidate materials of any kind (hats, t-shirts, stickers, signs, etc.) will be admitted into the forum ballroom. Candidates are free to distribute materials outside of the ballroom, at the conclusion of the forum, as guests leave.
The candidates or their representatives will draw lots for order at 6:30 p.m. at the hotel. The drawing of lots will be overseen by moderator Ken Dixon. The candidates will be seated at a table with microphones in numerical order based on their number drawn.
The candidate who draws #1 will make the first opening remarks and remarks will follow in numerical order. Each candidate will have two minutes to make opening remarks. The candidate who draws #1 will also answer the first question first, followed again by the candidates in numerical order. Subsequent questions will be answered in a numerical order “round robin” rotation. For example, the second question will be answered first by the candidate who draws #2 and will be answered last by the candidate who draws #1. Each question answer will be limited to 90 seconds. There are no rebuttals allowed. The closing remarks will go in reverse order of the opening remarks. Position #5 will go first and position #1 will go last. Each closing remark will be limited to two minutes. Timekeepers will be seated in front of the candidates and moderator with flash cards indicating time remaining to answer. The moderator is empowered to cut-off candidate remarks that exceed the allowable time frames.
The first three questions will come from the forum sponsoring organizations, AARP, NAACP and GBLN and will be asked by the moderator Ken Dixon. The subsequent questions will be from those submitted in writing by the audience during the registration and initial part of the forum. They will be selected and asked by moderator Ken Dixon at his discretion. Candidates will be allowed to use notepads and electronic devices.
The audience will be asked to refrain from applause and comments. The entrances and egresses to the hotel and ballroom must be clear at all times.
Mary-Jane and Joe should hand over their phones and make a statement on their own they have no need for them and a pen and pad is enough.
A candidate’s stature is not measured in inches. By the end of the debate, people might think Mary-Jane Foster is the tallest candidate for mayor.
Joe Ganim is lucky to catch a break as Ken Dixon is a personal friend, no? To be able to go through the questions and ask at his own discretion? This should be interesting. I’ve been reading Ken Dixon in the paper for over 25 years. I expect him to do an excellent job!
YOU KNOW STEVE, YOU ARE SUCH A F’N ASSHOLE! ALL IN THE NAME OF BILL FINCH.
Ken Dixon has an impeccable record for good, clean, honest and independent journalism. And you go ahead and impugn it just desperately trying to save Finch. What’s the matter, Steve? All the Finchettes are scared shitless Bill is simply going to embarrass himself so you are proactively claiming the debate was fixed. Go climb under that rock. You are such a lowlife.
Bob Walsh, did you miss the part where I stated I have read Ken Dixon for 25 years and expect him to do a good job? Your outrageous outburst about my comment is weird! Calm down. Desperately trying to save Finch? Save him from what? I expect Mayor Finch will be excellent during the debate. I would not expect anything less!
Actually, I said excellent job.
How do you register to attend?
Too late to register now. They’re no longer accepting.
How about members of the press? Will a press pass get you in the door?
Thanks.
Bill Finch will be allowed to bring his Game Boy and iPod to keep himself occupied in between questions.
What about the library debate? Has that been rescheduled yet?
What about the North End Association? Lake Forest Association?
Is everyone running scared of MJF?
The largest city in the state and the most interesting mayoral primary in decades and the residents will settle for ONE F’N DEBATE? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
Since it appears all the Democratic candidates will be running again in the general election (since it appears the three major contenders will run as Independents if they lose), the North End Association will hold a forum that will also include Mr. Torres at a later date. This will allow participation by other voters (unaffiliated), which is a big voting bloc.
But why haven’t you organized a debate?
Because I am actively involved in Mary-Jane Foster’s campaign and I am sure the other candidates would claim it is biased.
Just like someone might claim your, I mean the North End Association has chosen to wait until they could invite Rick Torres rather than have a debate before the primary.
You know Bubba, you’re right!
I’m surprised FOCUS on CONNECTICUT didn’t have a candidate forum.
Will someone ask if any are willing to invite the Mohegan and Pequot to build in Bridgeport and bring the jobs?
The debate rules won’t mean very much–they never do.
If history is a reliable indicator, the upcoming debate will degenerate into a mud-slinging contest by the other two candidates, because they don’t have detailed, viable plans to take Bridgeport into positive territory in the near- or long-term future. So since they can’t “shine” as viable candidates, they will try to drown out Joe Ganim’s plan for our future and resort to character assassination to tarnish his candidacy.
That is what the other two candidates did to each other in the debates in 2011. Historically, it has been good debate strategy in Bridgeport–debate audiences usually love blood and don’t get too excited by anything of substance. But in the end, it won’t work–Bridgeporters are sick of the crime, being taxed to death, and watching their property values/job prospects decline as our leaders try to prop up their records by hyping new strip malls and playing down the flight of high-value tax base.
But it would be good if the people in our chronically desperate city realized they should vote for the guy with leadership skills, guts and a plan. (Remember: THOSE WHO FAIL TO PLAN, PLAN TO FAIL. The cities, states and countries that are thriving are those that have carefully planned, made back-up plans, and stayed on track with their plans. “Winging it” hasn’t worked for Bridgeport. Has it?)
In any event, the debates probably won’t mean too much this year–the decline of the city under this administration is palpable. The other candidate is simply not of the nature that can pull a city like Bridgeport out of its tailspin. Nice person, but better suited to lead a place like Ridgefield or Darien–closer to her true roots.
So we shouldn’t worry too much about the debates. The people will vote for change, and they’ll go with the tough candidate with a plan on September 16.
I wish I had known about this debate sooner, as I would have signed up. I think the game plan they have in place for the candidates makes good sense. I can’t help but wonder how they are going to control raucous behavior and outbursts from all the attendees from the various campaigns. I’m sure there will be some unpleasant moments during this debate due to “audience participation.”
Will Maryli be allowed to bash Ganim because Finch is afraid to?
The issues that should and must be discussed and debated are simple to explain, not so simple to address. Whoever prevails in November will be on the spot; all of us and the rest of the people of the city of Bridgeport will be watching. Integrity must be restored to City Hall. Businesses do not want to locate in Bridgeport because of the corruption and ineptitude and antipathy endemic to Bridgeport’s administration.
The most important item on any mayor’s agenda must be tax reform and relief. The Bridgeport tax collector’s office has become predatory; homeowners and businesses alike have been victimized by the ineptitude of Anne Kelly-Lenz; she is so concerned with protecting Mayor Finch, she is indifferent to the suffering caused by the unfair “boot and tow” and foreclosure policies that have left the working poor without automobiles or homes. It is well documented the city reaps very little from these policies, certainly not anywhere near enough to justify confiscating the cars and houses of people who live paycheck to paycheck.
Currently only 50% of the property in Bridgeport is taxable. Thirty years’ worth of administrations has done next to nothing to increase the grand list and/or eliminate government waste; doing both would go a long way toward lowering taxes and making municipal government more efficient. An efficiency audit should be conducted, and let the chips fall wherever. If there are employees on the municipal payroll who owe their jobs to political patronage, favoritism or a blowjob, they have to go. Laying off incompetents is much cheaper than keeping them on the payroll. Surely Mario Testa can find employment for them in the private sector. He has that kind of juice.
City Hall must respond in kind to public demands it conduct business with a much greater degree of transparency. Open up the checkbook; let us see how the mayor is spending our tax dollars.
Will Lennie be there blogging live giving us a blow-by-blow?
Yes, Troll.
Both Mary-Jane Foster and Joseph P. Ganim have law school educations and experience as practicing attorneys. Ganim’s law license was revoked but he still knows his way around the mulberry bush. Both are experienced at arguing (and rebutting) cases before learned judges and skeptical juries, drafting appeals and motions. Mayor Finch does not have a similar background and could well be at a disadvantage. Just sayin’.