Apparently the North Metro Mayors Association is sponsoring a candidate forum for HD 35A and HD 35B candidates.
It will be an opportunity to see whether the major party candidates for HD 35A, neither an incumbent, are nonetheless skilled in issue ducking and speaking at length, saying little.
If either Peter Perovich or Abigale Whelan, HD 35A DFL and GOP candidates respectively, ducks issues, goes fuzzy, or does too much "me too" talking it will be a red flag for citizens attentive enough to attend.
(Jim Abeler while holding the seat was good in facing issues and stating beliefs and positions, and we should expect the same of Perovich or Whelan, whichever is elected in November.)
All I could find online about the event is here; City of Ramsey homepage, event calendar notice:
District 35 A & B Legislative Candidate Forum
Thu, 09/25/2014 -
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Hat tip to City staff for posting. Otherwise it would likely be a total stealth thing. The North Metro Mayors Assn.'s event page for September fails to list the event.
So, be there or be square.
___________UPDATE_____________
OFF ISSUE A BIT: I live in HD 35A and of the handful of readers Crabgrass has attracted, the best guess is most do too. I know little of HD 35B, hence, readers are urged to check the Secretary of State's HD candidate info page.
As a further update to an earlier post about absentee voting, my recollection is I did not give the SoS absentee voting link:
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/index.aspx?page=211
Another SoS page of general interest to registered voters and citizens who may not yet be registered;
Voter Education and Outreach — Promote the Vote
__________FURTHER UPDATE__________
BACK ON ISSUE: Ramsey City Administrator Kurt Ulrich is the NMMA Operating Committee liaison for our town, and in response to an email request he was kind enough to forward information on the event.
Kurt forwarded an email with attachments, a package which fully explains the event. The email states:
Attached for your information are the 4 prepared questions to be asked at our D 35A&B candidate forum at Ramsey City Hall at 6:30 on Thursday, September 25. Also attached is a brief intro to the North Metro Mayors Association.
Ramsey Mayor Sarah Strommen will serve as moderator. She will pose the questions in rotating order with set time limits on answers. We will also accept written questions from the audience. Proposed time limits are as follows:
1. Opening Statements 2 min.
2. Prepared Questions each 2 min. with 45 Sec. 'rebuttal' or comment by other candidate
3. Audience Questions as time permits with 1 Minute response & 30 Sec. rebuttal
4. Closing Statements in reverse order from opening with 1 min time limit
We hope to conclude each District forum in about 45 Minutes. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Bob Benke, P.E.(Retired)
Director, Research & Advocacy Services
North Metro Mayors Association
612-669-0274
The moderated format should be familiar to those who have attended LWV candidate forum sessions over the years. Readers, think of the questions you most want to ask those seeking to represent you in the Minnesota House.
The Audience Questioning segment often is the most informative thing happening, since it shows spontaneity on the part of candidates; i.e., rehearsals are more difficult than working out responses to advance questions.
Next: In sequence, thumbnails readers can click and read - advance prepared forum questions; and an introductory item to the NMMA organization.
If I were running, that last prepared item might be a humdinger. However, both Ms. Whelan and Mr. Perovich are kind and polite people, so expect an informative but not provocative ending of prepared questions.
____________FURTHER UPDATE______________
Presuming a fact not clearly in evidence, the QCTV homepage notes itself as "your home for streaming and on-demand video of your favorite sports, government and community programs from Andover, Anoka, Champlin and Ramsey, Minnesota," and in its event listing, "September 25 - North Metro Mayor's Assoc.
Legislative House Dist. 35A & 35B," is listed. The assumption from that is it might not be a broadcast event but might be available after the fact via the streaming video feature of the site. Terminating the post at this point, interested readers can themselves check by phone or otherwise the broadcast and/or streaming video availability of the event. UPDATE: It was asked if the streaming video on the website is live or only on delay. I do not know, but it seems technically feasible to have live streaming and sidebar archiving for a time, as long as there is someone in the council chambers broadcast control room operating equipment. Readers are welcome to try to see if it is live streamed, or to phone QCTV to find out intentions.