Just to keep things simple, if you want to talk about the Democratic mayoral primary between nominee Ellen Zoppo and challenger Art Ward, head to this entry from last week:
Primary countdown: 10 days to go
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Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
19 comments:
Thank God for Art Ward.
10 days until Zoppo is voted out of everything.
They are both bad for Bristol. BACK..Ward is the cause of the Mall Mess and Zoppo is just too childish to hold that much power.
Thank God for Ken Johnson!
I cannot wait until this is over so we do not have to listen about her missing signs.
I cannot wait to hear how this FOI complaint turns out. I truly believe she is quilty.
So here we are one week away from the primary and it is just two bad that Art and Ellen did not have one single public debate on the real issues. Now before the two camps jump all over this... the point is simple... it would have been a more productive way for the voters to be able to hear the candidates views, proposed solutions and overall plans to fix this city. I'm sure that we can all agree that it needs fixing and instead of all this name calling more time needs to be spent on the real issues.
Again, the question needs to be asked?
How angry will Zoppo be if she loses?
How do the Dem council candidates and Art Ward work together after this primary battle? It's quite clear that they cannot stand each other.
The thing about debates is a moved point because Ward will win no matter what.
Art is a professional and can put the differences of the DTC aside to work for the betterment of Bristol. Unlike Ellen who will seek revenge.
Ellen is to childish and needs to have more years under her on how to treat people and get things done withour backstabbing, and being mean.
Art and Ellen have been debating for the last 2 years. If all you can come up with is that Art refused a formal debate invitation, then you haven't been paying attention to the more important issues that have come up that both of them have voiced their views on.
Move on.
"Art and Ellen have been debating for the last 2 years. If all you can come up with is that Art refused a formal debate invitation, then you haven't been paying attention to the more important issues that have come up that both of them have voiced their views on."
This attitude, which Ward obviously shares, does a disservice to the vast majority of Democrats who frankly have not "been paying attention" these past couple of years because they have better things to do than obsess over who says what at a council meeting. Now is the time for the candidates to tell registered Democrats who they are and what they stand for. The fact that Ward refuses to do this unfortunately speaks volumes.
Art Ward clearly states who he is and what he stands for on his web site. No debate there!
Let me be clear here. The point of my post was not about Art Ward (in fact I made no mention of a refusal to debate) so don't twist my meaning. My point simply was that it would have been good for the voters to have had an opportunity to see Art & Ellen (and even Ken Johnson)debate on the real issues and take questions from the public. Not everyone is "in the know" and this type of positive activity would have served everyone. We are trying to choose the next leader of our city and a forum to discuss how these folks would lead the city would have gone a long way.
If Ellen wins the primary the voters will have the opportunity to hear a debate between all three candidates.
The Dems know who Ellen and Art are. It isn't necessary to have a debate for this primary.
Get over Art's refusal to debate. It's a pointless argument.
how come we haven't heard anything more about that FOI complaint, is the city, kraweicki, stortz, zoppo and company waiting until after the primary in hopes that we all forget? unbelievable? no it's not, it is the type of shenanigans that will happen everyday if zoppo is elected mayor. wake up people.
Starsky, unfortunately you are wasting your breath. If Ellen wins the primary there still will be no debate(s). With all due respect to Art and his service, a well spoken, fast on his feet debater he is not. A debate would be a disaster for him. His team knows it and is scared to death of the idea. On the other hand it's not a great thing for Ellen either. Her strong personality will come off in a very negative fashion simply adding fuel to the Ellen basher's fire. It's unfortunate because it would give us a chance to see if Ken Johnson is worth a shot. Can't tell much from his stagnant web site. The other two, while they may have records as long as your arm as councilman we have no clear feeling how they would function as the city's chief executive. That's why debates and all other forms of interactive forums are important.
Art is not afraid to debate her - he welcomes one after the primary, if she survives it. He will debate Johnson as well.
It's not about Art or any specific candidate! Good lord almighty, one can only hope that the candidate is not as clueless as his supporters. It's about telling the people who pay the taxes how you view the city's future and how you will handle its challenges. Telling them during a live forum and not via some contrived web site. An open discussion where you have to think on your feet and defend your record. The problem here is that Ward's supporters think that because he has sat on the council for 14 years that he is somehow entitled to the job and how dare anyone try to interfere with that entitlement. So much so that they made sure he got on the ballot in November regardless of the primary. Maybe Art is the best man for the job and maybe he's not? Unfortunately voters will have to decide from a web site and a bunch of signs.
Voters are not stupid. They make decisions based on their experience with a candidate, conversations they have had with them and seeing how the person treats other people. People don't make voting decisions based off of debates. Debates are for each campaign camp to clap louder than the other whenever their candidate speaks.
Art has been having quite a few conversations with people, walking neighborhoods, not to mention his mailer, website and the number of speeches he's done at different functions lately.
People have the information they need to make a decision on who they will vote for. Don't sell the voters short and don't fall into the foolish belief that the voters are stupid.
1)" better things to do than obsess over who says what at Council meetings?" Voters have an OBLIGATION to keep themselves informed of what their elected officials are both saying and doing.I repeat,this is not an obsession ,but an obligation.
2)VOTE!
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