"~ Counted almost 100 in attendance last night at the 1st City of Rockville candidate's debate. A group of young people arrived late and left early. Replay of the debate is on Rockville Channel 11.

It was great to see many familiar people at the debate, but I was deeply disappointed in the mayoral debate. There was too much antagonistic comments made about our Mayor Marcuccio. She had a great start, but had to spend time defending her side to every remark.

The council candidates were all very good, but they didn't have a real debate and only had time to answer 3 questions and give their platform summary.

So far I am considering the following candidates:

Phyllis Marcuccio for Mayor
John Hall, Bridget Newton, Dion Trahan and Virginia Onley for council.

There are plenty opportunities for citizens to hear and meet the candidates. It takes time and knowing where the opportunities are. The candidates need to reach out the people who are not connected to city hall and don't read Facebook, Rockville Central, Rockville Patch, GAZETTE, SENTINEL, Rockville Newsletter, etc.

There are many people telling me the don't know enough about the candidates and issues.

People are asking what the formats will be for the other forums. It was stated that it would be good to get "different candidates' views on the same question instead of each of them getting a different question to answer."
At this forum I thought some of the questions were planned ahead of time for some of the candidates. This is my perception. Some were more prepared to answer them then others because they knew the question that would be asked. When the League of Women Voters moderate the forum on October 25 (City Hall,7:pm), I am sure they will make the process as fair as possible.
Did anyone think that some candidates knew the questions they would to be asked?

Brigitta,
I really don't like the insinuation that questions were biased toward different candidates. I know the Fallsmead folks and they were scrupulous in their approach to the debate. I was told that many would not put up campaign signs til after the debate in order to appear absolutely neutral. I think you owe them an apology.
With such limited time for questions, if all candidates answered all questions, you would get 2 questions answered in the allotted time. The issue is more time for both debates so that fuller discussion can be had.

Brigitta, the candidates had absolutely no idea which questions were going to be asked of us.

Bridget and I were even surprised to discover that we would all be asked *different* questions -- she and I were dutifully scratching out notes to answer the question Les Francis was asked, only to have Rich Gottfried be asked something else.

Asking each candidate a separate question was a little terrifying for those of us trying to prep our answers, and it didn't allow for much direct comparison among the candidates, but it was a good way to get a lot of topics on the table. I also think viewers were given a fair look at how candidates approach the issues in general, even if the topics each of us were asked about were different.

Jim, please be advised that I have the right to my own opinion. I strongly believe that some candidates knew what questions were going to be asked ahead of time. Let others decide on their own.

I know that the Fallsmead Homes Corporation (FHC) handled the forum to the best of their interest. Jim, are you speaking for the ENTIRE FHC?

If anyone has a problem with what I wrote, they may address their issue with me at coburg1@verizon.net. I do welcome other people's opinion, but also like to have my own. Thank you!

We can only hope that some of these candidates are not on the loony left. The loony left has done enough to damage the County ----- just read the Washington Post and you will understand. We need some fiscal conservatives that know how to keep spending down and lower our taxes. And we don't need to be a sanctuary for impoverished people of the world that enter our country illegally.

JH,
I hope you take the time to review Rockville excellent history of low taxes and great services. Many residents don't closely scrutinize their property tax bill to realize that only 20-25% of it goes to Rockville. The County is the culprit for raising out property taxes time and again.
Also, did you know that Rockville gets none, zero, of the sales taxes collected from Rockville? Yet we pay for most of the infrastructure and residual services costs. If the Pike is redeveloped according to the draft plan, the state and county will receive 5-6 times the revenues than the City. So let's not talk about national immigration in Rockville when we can't even get a fair share from our local investments.

Brigitta,

Sorry you have a preception that questions at the Oct 13th Candidates Forum were shared beforehand with any of the candidates. As the moderator, I can assure you that was not the case. I alone selected the questions, their wording and whom to ask. I tried to be neutral and as comprehensive as possible. I received possible questions from multiple sources including that night amounting to nearly twenty. In fact one candidate called me beforehand and asked for the questions and I refused because of the obvious advantage. I hope that this response reassures you ( and possibily others) that this Forum was objective and focused only on educating Rockville voters for the Nov.8th elections.

Jim Marrinan
Moderator
Fallsmead Sponsored Oct. 13th Candidates Forum

Jim,
Thank you for posting Jim Marrinan's comments. I have a better understanding how the questions were assigned. I appreciate the explanations.

I thought the forum was moderated very, very well. I do agree that the one question to one candidate was a bit unfortunate! It made it a bit difficult to compare candidates on the same issue.

I can agree with Brigitta on one choice. I came away very, very impressed by Virginia Onley. She deserves everyone's vote!