A Different Kind of Meet the Candidates Event.

The election to fill David Coviello's seat is on Tuesday, March 28.  There are three BP residents running for this seat.  They are, in order of declaring candidacy, Dan Samaria, Harvey Bilt, and Mac Kennedy.

Typically, in advance of Commission elections, we hold a Meet the Candidates event.  The event has, over the years, been sponsored by one or another group.  This year, perhaps in the commotion preceding the special election, no one planned a MTC event.  So I planned one.  It will occur at the log cabin on Thursday, March 16, at 6:30 PM.

Traditionally, we have structured the event so that candidates are asked a question, with each in turn giving his or her response to that question.  Then, on to the next question.  Questions are composed by the sponsoring group, and they often include some questions submitted by audience members the night of the event.

In my experience, both as an observer and a participant, the questions have an over-generalized and stilted quality to them, and responses are often a series of platitudes, frequently repeated by each of the various candidates.  I decided this time to structure the exercise or demonstration differently.

What I will do is compose a few scenarios.  Each one will describe a typical Village problem which the Commission will confront.  Commission candidates, instead of giving isolated, and timed, answers to the problems will take the roles of Commissioners.  They will be a Commission of three.  They will discuss the scenarios, looking either to form a consensus about a solution, or to make clear what are their differences of opinion or approach.  In these discussions, exactly like the discussions that occur among Commissioners, candidates will take whatever time they need, say as much or as little as they like, and show how they can in some sense work together to conclude a decision about each scenario.  Working together might mean coming to consensus, or agreeing to disagree, or finding a new solution.  We shall see.

So come to the event next week.  Find out what Commissioner Samaria, Commissioner Bilt, and Commissioner Kennedy look like.