High point of the debate last night. The coffee cake I bought at the bake sale.
Second high point, a much improved amplified audio for those in attendance. With the exception of a minor glitch here and there, and the fact that the microphone had to be passed around, you could actual hear most of went on. At most times even from the cushy seats in the entry area by the bake sale.
Honestly, my primary purpose of attending in person was to for observational purposes, audience reaction, and perception. Substance, well maybe a point of two along the way here ...
I will say from a perception point, one could be scratching their heads over what was said at times by both candidates. Par for the course really. Be that as it may, I seriously doubt that any person in attendance or who views the recording is going to say, "Wow, that changed my mind."
General observations at this point, with an eye and an ear toward audience reaction and comments, and on style only, not substance, no clear winner.
Several interesting comments about what can and will be done and what is being done on a few points. But I will leave it to you to watch and judge.
Looking at it from a political pundit point of view I was underwhelmed.
I am sure the rhetoric from both camps will be in disagreement. In fact if you go to the Facebook pages for both sides of the turbine debate, you will see that those two camps do in fact disagree.
You can watch the recording and decide for yourself. It is on the Government Access Channel "on demand" site. It runs about an hour and 1/2. There is a rather sparse article in the S-T today also.
A few points.
I would like to know which B of H member was was the source for the lack of clarity in the S-T article. The salary is not $3,000 per year, per member.
I agree with the challenger's point as to meetings held during the day. Disagree with his point on medical marijuana facilities. Equating what you can do with such facilities with what has been done with tattoo parlors is well on the same level as equating as the incumbent did by the use of police and fire personnel paying for health insurance with the fact he does.
The issue of the health insurance isn't that you pay for it. The issue most people have is that the benefit exists for these positions in the first place. But related to that, I am a bit perplexed by the statement of the challenger in essentially saying this is a three to five hour of work per week position.
That being said, I for one am not going to cast my vote based on whether someone will or will not take an allowed benefit or whether someone will or will not donate their salary to a charity. If you take it and donate it, you don't save the town money there either.
Not sure the totality of the opening remarks by either candidate were well thought out.
An individual stated to me the question they both should be asked is "what is the role of the board of health?"; and, I think that would have been a great question. It is a question that should be asked at every debate and for every elected office.
It is clear that the scorecards for this event will vary widely, do presently vary, and are going to be directly influenced by your particular view of the issues. Maybe I should say issue.
Anyway, my most sincere suggestion to all is watch it yourself. Do not rely on this post, any comments, or any postings or articles elsewhere.
Point to note for everyone. Comments are always welcome. However, I reserve the right, again as always, to play the devil's advocate on any comment about any candidate.
Enough for today.
Be Safe.
Candidate night observations:
ReplyDeleteMr. Deterra said he would never sue the town. We could use a lot more people with that attitude. But in this case we have to remember that Mr. Wethington not only took the town to court, but won his case. A judge ruled the election invalid. Mr. Wethington did not cause the cost or inconvenience of a new election. Whoever made the election invalid did.
Mr. Wethington said he will not use the town insurance. Great. But I don't think our vote should be based on who is going to use a benefit they're entitled to and who's not. Maybe eligibility for town insurance benefits for elected officials should be considered at some point in the future.
Mr. Wethington referenced the job using 3-5 hour a week. I have to think that's a major underestimate for most town boards.
The question was asked if Mr. Wethington would go to court again if this election was close. We ought to be thankful that he did go to court for the mere fact that it has waken up the election workers. How many shoddy elections have we had or would we have if the habits not been exposed. Hopefully we'll never have another sloppy election. But if a candidate has proof of errors in procedure, then they ought to pursue it.
Mr. Deterra stated that the 'found' ballot was for him and that by disregarding that fact, it cost the town $17,000. I hope the poll workers take the responsibility for that. Had the machines been emptied when they were supposed to, and the ballots at the polls been counted like they should have, then that wouldn't have been a factor in the re-do.
Commendable that Mr. Wethington wants to have programs in the schools, but he ought to poll a few educators to find out how much extra time is available for in school programs. The running programs have run successfully after hours.
Although there were duplicate questions from April, it was good to see the candidates express themselves. Now it's up to the voters (and the town clerk & co.)
How does a nurse know that a Sinovel wind turbine will fail in 5 to 6 years, along with the LLC?
ReplyDeleteI guess he already has all the proprietary information he needs, unlike the other windwise BOH member.
ReplyDelete