Next Tuesday, Oct 17, 7-9 PM, at the Belvedere
1600 N. Oak Street

For US House of Representatives
James T. Hurysz (Ind)
Bill Moran (D)
Tom M. O'Donoghue (R)

For County Board
Mike McMenamin (R)
Josh Ruebner (Green)
Chris Zimmerman (D)

For School Board
Sally Baird
Cecilia Espenoza

Report on Candidates' Night, October 17 at the Belvedere

We didn't always provide enough time and we went over schedule.

However, people walked away with some important questions answered about stands of the candidates for Congress, County Council and School Board. The room was comfortably filled so over 75 persons attended. A translation service was available for Spanish speakers (nice).

Participation from NRCA was high with Michelle DeMoor (thanks, Michelle, for your work on the arrangements for the forum), Paul Derby, Anne Speisman, Cecilia Cassidy, and Mark Antell asking questions. Apologies to anyone I've missed in this list.

In the Congressional race, Jim Hurysz stated he was running as a Progressive Democrat against a Bush Republican and a Corporate Democrat. Tom O'Donoghue said he was his own person and spoke most strongly about controlling illegal immigration. Jim Moran spoke longest about his effort to reduce airplane noise (he expects substantial noise reduction procedures will go into effect by next year).

In the County Council race, Mike McMenamin spoke about cutting back on spending and making good on promises first. Chris Zimmerman said that the County is generally well run and performing well. He advertised his own office as a good place to go when citizens feel that the bureaucracy is unresponsive. Josh Ruebner argued that Arlington is uncommitted to affordable housing and is rapidly becoming a millionaire enclave.

The candidates for School Board were articulate and knowledgeable. Sally Baird emphasized her management experience and compassionate leadership style. She will work to provide affordable housing in Arlington for school staff. Cecelia Espenosa emphasized the need to improve school services for minority and non-traditional communities. She also indicated strongest support for maintaining the Wilson School site as public land.

Mark Antell

Thanks for the summary, Mark. For those of us who could not attend, could others who queried the candidates post a short statement about that dialog?