Candidates Forums
The League of Women Voters held a candidates forum for County Exec and County Council candidates that have to run in the primary. You can watch the forum all week on the county's cable channel: Channel 70. The rebroadcast schedule is not very clear, but I gather it might be Wednesday at 8pm and Friday at 10pm. Which raises the point that won't people watch the county cable channel more if they had a clearer schedule.
So for those that were at the forum or watched live on county cable, what did you think? Use this as an open thread to discuss all the county council races and the county exec race. Even if you missed the forum, but have been following the race feel free to share your thoughts.
If this doesn't satisfy your forum needs then you can attend the Harper's Choice Candidates Forum on August 28th or participate in the upcoming Blogger's Candidates Forum. What is the Blogger's Candidates Forum you ask, well it is a new joint effort by the four bloggers that cover Howard County issues. After the primary we will send the candidates that make it into the general election questions for then to answer and then post them on our blogs after October 1st. You can then comment on the candidates' responses and ask them additional or follow up questions. You can also provide your own analysis and commentary on the responses and the other blogs and my guest bloggers will also likely provide their own analysis and commentary. This hopefully will be a great way for voters (i.e. you guys and gals) to directly engage those seeking their (i.e. your) vote. So lets start the process rolling. What questions do you want the candidates to answer? Post them in the comments section or email them to me.
So for those that were at the forum or watched live on county cable, what did you think? Use this as an open thread to discuss all the county council races and the county exec race. Even if you missed the forum, but have been following the race feel free to share your thoughts.
If this doesn't satisfy your forum needs then you can attend the Harper's Choice Candidates Forum on August 28th or participate in the upcoming Blogger's Candidates Forum. What is the Blogger's Candidates Forum you ask, well it is a new joint effort by the four bloggers that cover Howard County issues. After the primary we will send the candidates that make it into the general election questions for then to answer and then post them on our blogs after October 1st. You can then comment on the candidates' responses and ask them additional or follow up questions. You can also provide your own analysis and commentary on the responses and the other blogs and my guest bloggers will also likely provide their own analysis and commentary. This hopefully will be a great way for voters (i.e. you guys and gals) to directly engage those seeking their (i.e. your) vote. So lets start the process rolling. What questions do you want the candidates to answer? Post them in the comments section or email them to me.
posted by Evan | 11:16 PM
8 Comments:
there is also a LWV forum on Aug 15th for state delegation candidates at the Geo. Howard Building in EC. Same as last nights.
I did like the fact that the Districts were separated and each district's candidates were given about twenty to twenty-five minutes together. It kept it moving and people interested, unlike what happened at the COPE forum fiasco, where we had to go through 15 candidates for every question and it got to the point where by the seventh answer, you'd heard just about every possible response imaginable.
That being said, I was somewhat disappointed in the questions asked. There was really nothing original about them...or maybe it is just I've heard the same questions over and over again that I spend more time watching how the candidate's are dressed and present themselves than I do listening to the actual answers
I watched about 30 minutes of the forum last night and I agree with Dave, the questions were disappointing. I mostly watched the District 4 debate between Feldmark and Sigaty (though I did catch a little of District 5) and everything seemed so predictable and familiar. I guess we're going to have to work to come up with some bettter questions for our forum...
Here's a question to ask - Why is the county planning to (especially after millions? were spent to replace the Snowden/175 light with an overpass) put another red light in Columbia on Route 175 and which candidates are in favor of it?
Traffic isn't getting any better. The ICC (pronounced by some "the ick") to the southwest, BRAC to the southeast, proposed growth in both Turf Valley to the north and Columbia town center, and Route 32 expansion to the north will all just lead to more congestion. No one's ever built their way out of congestion - new roads just attract new traffic.
Coincident with worsening traffic is dependency on foreign energy for transportation and climate warming, partly due to vehicle emissions and partly due to urban heat island effect, which is due in part to more paved road surface.
What are the candidates' solutions?
Anon#1: Where's the new red light going to be?
While I probably could have phrased it better, where the red light will be was part of the intended question to the candidates to see if they're well enough informed. That said, it's probably a bit presumptive of me to expect awareness of things that aren't yet when there's already so many things that are of which to keep track is worthy. So, here's where.
Relative to your post regarding upgrading the 29 pedestrian overpass, some consideration should be given to avoiding adding a redlight to 175 here by using an overpass (pedestrian and/or pedestrian/wildlife and/or pedestrian/vehicular). Just as you've described 29 being east/west Columbia's Berlin wall, 175 (via a realignment way back when) became the Smith farm's Berlin wall. Wouldn't it be fitting if it were relinked with a natural overpass? Europe is way ahead of us on incorporating wildlife/natural overpasses into road design. Such structures would improve traffic flow and safety, improve aesthetics, reduce roadkill, and reduce traffic impetus for deer hunting in Blandair.
Additionally, relative to your EnviroCenter/Sustainable Community post and Mary Smith's reply, a nature center is planned for Blandair. Incorporating green building design into the nature center seems like a perfect fit. Collaboraction between MHEC/HCC/EnviroCenter/Parks and Rec/school field trips on such a project does, too.
Anon#1
Next question suggestion - the 18-mile ICC will cost $3 billion and the maglev train that will only stop at Orioles stadium in Baltimore, BWI, and Union Station in DC will cost $4 billion. Further restricting the use of each, the maglev will have an estimated $14 one-way fare and the ICC may be a toll road, too. Are they valid investments of taxpayers money and neighborhood and public lands or are they boondoggles?
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