It was encouraging to see such involvement from the community in this process. The crowd was engaged but well-behaved — a good combination.
For anyone who wasn't able to attend, check out our preview story for information about how to view the two-hour event on public TV or on DVD. Oh, and all those questions that went unanswered? Don't worry. We're going to bring each candidate in and ask them those questions individually. We'll probably film those answers ourselves and post them on our site. And no, they won't be able to see the questions ahead of time.
John Saiz and I are finishing up our stories for Wednesday's paper (his on the City Council candidates, mine on the mayoral candidates), and we'll be posting them on the web site sometime today.
We obviously all have our own opinions of how the candidates performed, but we'd love to hear from you. So to those who attended, what stood out to you? Who did exceptionally well? Who struggled? Who made you laugh? Who made you cry? Let us know — but keep it civil. Thanks.
1 comment:
As a long time resident, i too was impressed with the turnout and the the amount of questions submitted. A couple of things stood out! One was that the race for Council is now a three person race. Mr. Reallini really stood out to me as the biggest challenge to the incumbents. His views bringing the focus back to downtown and the need to focus on more activities and programs for youth was key. Mrs. Smith was very well spoken and strong in her bid for another term. Mr. Farhina on the other, though speaking very eloquently, felt to stiff and couldn't handle questions he was not prepared to speak on.
The race for mayor to me sounded very similar to the national race for President..On one side we have the establishment, Mrs. Campo and on the other side we have an up and coming force to be reckoned with. I was very impressed with Mr. Molina's vision for the city and the push to make the citizens of this community the focal point of the campaign. His willingness to hear the voice and listen to the needs of this community is a breath of FRESH AIR!
Mrs. Campo also was well spoken, but what really took me back was the emptiness that i felt in her answers. Mrs. Campo took A LOT of credit for decisions made as a body (credit for the uniqueness of the city which she claimed as things under her stints on the planning commission, council, and as mayor) What she didn't fail to take credit for were the debacles that the city has faced during that same period, (the check scandle, the bad community planning which has seen the city grow without the necessary infrastructure)..What really got me was the credit that Mrs. Campo for the creation Youth Action Commission. This was a slap in the face to all those, i included, who sit and attend the Youth Development Committee meetings every other Friday. Mrs. Campo has NEVER Attended a Meeting. It was Councilmen Cuellar who spearheaded this committee, but more importantly it has been the work of the REC department staff, School and School district administration, the Faith Based Community, and concerned community members as well as the Teen Center Staff that have moved this committee forward and have created this important space for young people to voice their concerns and need.
As i referenced earlier, this race is becoming a carbon copy of the national race..the establishment is using her roots and experience as the key to her campaign and the opposition using the strengths of the community to bring about better schools, more jobs and a healthier engaged community! Change can only happen when we are strong enough to challenge the status quo..Mr. Molina is doing just that..Another piece that has come to sight for me in the days following the Forum is the amount of signs Mrs. Campo's campaign is putting up. Most of the properties belong to local developers and have been put up by those same land owners...It is pocket politics vs people politics..they say money is power..but money power can never overcome the power of the people..I challenge all citizens of patterson to use their power and be courageous enough to stand up to the old establishment, the good 'ole boy (and Girl) network that has run this town for too long!
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