The City of Troy, New York, "Where Henry Hudson Turned Around."

Thursday, October 18, 2007

DEBATAPALOOZA

Democratic Mayoral candidate Jim Conroy liked the debate so much he's calling for more:
There are three weeks until the election. I propose that we meet once a week in a different part of the City so that the voters can really understand the difference between the current administration and my vision for a Troy that is united for growth and prosperity.


That's probably not a bad idea. According to The Record:

It was standing room only at a Tuesday night public forum and mayoral debate featuring incumbent Republican Mayor Harry Tutunjian, Democrat Jim Conroy and Independent Elda Abate.



The two-hour debate, which was moderated by the League of Women Voters, took place at a third floor conference room at the city's Commission for Economic Opportunity on Fifth Avenue.


Conroy has proposed three more debates, presumably each two hours in duration. We agree in principle. However, how about six one hour debates or 12 half-hour debates? Or thirty-six, 7 minute mini-bates?

No offense to the League of Women Voters, the format must be changed. Might we suggest the following:

1) A Hollywood Squares format where nine Trojans (citizens, not prophylactics) aid the candidates in answering a host of complex questions. For example, "Mark Wojcik to block."

2) A Jeopardy format - I'm sorry, the answer must be in the form of a question. "What is Intimigate?"

3) A Miss America format with a talent portion and a swimsuit portion.

4) An 'Escape from North Central' format. The candidates are helicoptered into the heart of North Central Troy at 7:00PM with nothing but the clothes on their back and a finely-edged spork. The one still alive (or still clothed) at sunrise wins.

Just throwing it out there.

Moving on. A few notes on the debate.

Elda: "I believe in the city of Troy," said Abate, a prominent business owner who immigrated to the area from Italy more than 30 years ago. "I believe Troy is a beautiful city and has much potential for growth in the future."

And if things do go right, she just may move here.

Harry: "My four years as mayor has passed quickly. In that time, I think I have earned and kept the people's trust. Everyone is talking about Troy these days because there is so much going on here that people want to be a part of. There is a lot of progress in our future that our residents will benefit from."

And we lead the Capital District in ending sentences with prepositions.

Jim: "People are tired of business as usual in Troy," said Conroy. "They want a change."

Or at least business as it usually was four years ago.

Elda: "This administration is no good. ... We elected him and we can un-elect him so we can bring Troy to the next level."

She gets it, man! She gets it! It's all about levels, man.

Harry: "It all comes down to trust," he continued. "And I know at least one of my opponents can't be trusted. But I ask the residents of this city to trust me again to move the city forward."

We had an uncle that talked about trust. Right before he offered us candy and tried to get us to play special boy games.



POLL RESULTS

The results for our Troy City Council At-Large race are in: *



Don't forget to vote in our new poll!

*This poll was conducted from sometime in October to October 17 with a 50% +/- margin of error. No humans were harmed during the making of this poll.

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