When did candidates stop answering questions?

There is a war going on out there.
Here in Rochester, our election process has become so nasty, so mean and so awful in terms of mudslinging, rumor mongering, plain old lying and the worst part is how a regular plain old citizen, expressing his opinion, can become a victim of online ridicule and harassment. One poor guy's voter registration information was maliciously put onto the Freeman website after he posted his opinion about one of our local candidates, which some people disagreed with.

There is no doubt that in this town rumors and lies work well. Now we have a new tool of public shame - the information superhighway a/k/a the internet or, as they say in Brooklyn; da web.

This is an extreme analogy, back in the 'Godfather' days of the Mafia the women and children were never touched by the violence of 'the business' world. It should be the same way here. Members of the public, people not involved or running for office, should NEVER and I REPEAT - N E V E R - be made the topic of anyone's ridicule, scorn, research or further comments. People are entitled to their privacy and opinions and all this talk about high faluting values and these scholarly treatises on how our election issues are up there with the Magna Carta are a bunch of horse dung if people have become afraid to post their opinions because their so called neighbors will publicly and brutally ridicule them.

Here's the new rule - You don't get to hide behind the First Amendment, like a child hiding behind his mommy's skirt, and cry that it's your 'right' to say what ever you want to intimidate someone else from ever again considering using his/her first amendment rights to express themselves. The next attack on 'civilians' will be posted here, everyone will know it.

We are being ignored.
I always thought candidates love to proclaim how and why they are so great and why we should not only vote for them but why we should also not even think about voting for their opponent who is blah-blah-blah...

Suddenly, here in the Town of Rochester, is it OK that if candidates do not want to answer questions they just ignore them? Some have ignored every communication I have sent to them via e-mail and phone calls, both directly and to their party. I think that some candidates think they need to only respond to questions from their chosen audience. Perhaps, they think that they can render the question irrelevant by ignoring it. So, Readers, here is the deal; your one question, which seems reasonable and very relevant to me, has been ignored by some candidates.

The Question: What is your strategy for bringing the Town together?

Town Supervisor & Town Council Candidates
(in alphabetical order)

Carl Chipman: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Tavi Cilenti: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Pamela Duke:
We will continue on the path of creating a consensus driven proactive stewardship of our communities values. I will continue to work as I can with other community leaders, from the state, county and other communities, to prevent Rochester from turning into Westchester or Rockland County. The people of our town have said it over and over; they want to preserve our small town in terms of what it looks like and what our way of life is here. To preserve our community and encourage commercial growth, which will bring jobs, will bring our town together.

Francis Gray:
With the exception of those who own large tracts of land or those who have an interest in poor environmental standards, the vast majority of town residents want to know that our town will continue to look like a small town in the country; rolling hills, open farm fields, lush forest land, sweeping vistas of mountains. People believe in the family values that come with small towns; knowing your neighbors and taking care of and looking out for one another. Preserving our rural community while looking to the future with things like high speed internet and other things that encourage job development will not only bring our community together but will allow us to prosper.

Manuela Michailescu: this candidate has not yet responded to our question.

Donna Ragonese:
After spending over 40 years in education, social work and serving community organizations, as a volunteer and board member, I have learned a very simple and important skill - I will spend a lot of time LISTENING to people. I believe that will go a long way in bringing people together.


Do you have questions for the candidates? Please post your questions and we will ask the candidates to respond

How do you feel about the upcoming election?

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Links:
The Good Ole Days
What We Got Here is a Failure to Communicate
Presenting - The Candidates


Moderator's Note : We look forward to publishing profiles from any candidate who may have missed the previous deadline. Please use the e-mail button to contact me and/or click my name to send in your information. TOR2007 --click to e-mail.

Note on recent comment posted: a comment was received this afternoon that has been rejected because posts must be reasonably respectful. Perhaps, rather than attacking the candidates the writer dislikes, the writer can tell us some of their ideas about how all the people in our town can communicate better and what qualities he would like to see in a candidate. If the writer would like to discuss this with me, please send an e-mail - TOR2007. Thank you.