WBTA and The Batavian partner on candidate forums

Posted by Howard Owens on October 14, 2009 - 8:15am
Tagged in
Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly versionSend to friendSend to friend

WBTA and The Batavian will bring you a series of candidate forums over the next couple of days.

Starting tonight, Dan Fischer and I will host a series of Q&A sessions with the City Council candidates and the candidates for competitive County Legislature seats at the WBTA studios.

We will interview the candidates in pairs. 

These sessions are not debates, but rather an opportunity to have a discussion about the important issues in the city and the county.

Tonight and tomorrow night, we will interview the candidates and the interviews will be broadcast unedited tomorrow and Friday. We've also hired Ethan Thompson to videotape the interviews, and the video will be available on The Batavian as soon as the tapes are properly processed for downloading on the web (as always, via YouTube).

Here's the schedule of interviews:

Wednesday, Oct. 14:
7:00 p.m.: Sara Burk-Balbi and Marianne Clattenburg
8:00 p.m: Frank Ferrando and Phil Ricci
These two interviews will air on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.
 
Thursday, Oct. 15:
7:00 p.m.: Julie Wallace and Tim Buckley
7:30 p.m.: Chris Charvella and Hollis Upson
8:00 p.m.: Rose Mary Christian and Robert Radley
These three interviews will air on Friday, Oct. 16 at 10 a.m. on WBTA.

If there are questions you think I should ask, please submit them in comments below.

Posted by Manilla Owen on October 14, 2009 - 8:24am
This is a good thing. Even though I am a resident of Pavilion, I can see the help this would be to voters in the Batavia area. Hopefully when we have races that are connected to our area you will be doing the same thing. Thanks.
Posted by tim raines on October 14, 2009 - 8:51am
Ask each of them to put their left hand on the bible, raise their right hand and Swear to God that they can make a DECISION if elected!
Posted by Phil Ricci on October 14, 2009 - 9:04am
I'll do that right now Mr. Raines. There I just made one for you! :-)
Posted by Phil Ricci on October 14, 2009 - 9:05am
Seriously, I am looking forward to tonight and would like to thank TheBatavian and WBTA for doing this! I think that a side by side comparison of each candidates ideals is great!
Posted by Daniel Jones on October 14, 2009 - 11:28am
Ask all of the candidates what they see as their job duties beyond going to council/legislature meetings?

Do they see going door to door during their terms and keeping their finger on the public pulse as important?
Posted by Bea McManis on October 14, 2009 - 1:35pm
For those running for council:
The cost of trash pickup has been in the news for several days. Are you in favor of keeping the current system or are you in favor of charging a fee for renters as well? If in favor of charging renters, how will this impact the senior citizens with apartments in senior complexes throughout the city?

For those running for Legislature:
There is quite a bit of concern and confusion, from the senior community, regarding the Med Tech Park.
What, exactly, will be housed in this building?
What services will be provided there that are now available in the city?
Will seniors, who depend on bus transportation, be able to make appointments when they have to rely on the college bus schedule? The first bus leaves the center of the city at 7:15am and arrives at 7:45am (a half hour ride). Other buses go to that location at 8:45am, 11:10am, 11:30am and 5:10am. Were seniors ever considered when this facility was planned?