The ForumThe crowd was small, probably less than 20, but this Wednesday's debate was the most interesting and confrontational forum I have seen in a while. Since I wrote the rules of the debate, I added one which allowed the candidates to directly question one another. This changed the event from just being a "forum," and gave it more of a "debate" element. This led to a much more direct exchange of views, and prevented any candidate from being able to offer dubious statements without being questioned.
Unfortunately, my recorder ran out of batteries about three minutes into the evening, so I cannot provide direct quotes. I will recount what I recall of the evening (since
once again, no press attended).
Eckman wins handily
Although all three candidates stated clear positions on the issues, Ellen Eckman clearly won this debate. While she and I have had our many differences over the last few years, I also am committed to being forthright with my observations on this blog. As such, I must tell you that Eckman won this debate handily.
She won mostly for presenting the most pro-business agenda, which was the main issue of the evening. This issue took center stage given the way the board has treated the Legion Post, and also because of the several landlords and business-people in the audience. Eckman also wins for not getting dragged into the arguing over obscure policy points, which was one of the main problems the other two candidates faced.
Business and the smoking banWhile Michael Phinney insisted that he has been a champion of business in Shorewood, Eckman pointed to her vote against the smoking ban as evidence of her pro-business stance. This point was well taken by the audience, who are understandably concerned about a smoking ban in a business where 80% - 90% of the customers, and all of the employees smoke.
Eckman also claimed credit (somewhat dubiously) for some of the new businesses in Shorewood, at least one of which is actually located in a building owned by Dave Tatarowicz. Whether this particular piece of the argument won her any points is certainly questionable.
Phinney claimed that the smoking ban is good policy because it will prompt the State Government to finally act on the issue. The long implementation date will allow the state sufficient time to take action, he said. Eckman won this point as well, insisting that her primary responsibility is to the businesses of Shorewood, rather than to promoting a particular agenda at the state level. Tatarowicz also decried the ban, primarily due to his position as a self proclaimed Libertarian on this issue.
Business Improvement DistrictTatarowicz also continued to question the usefulness of the Business Improvement District, an issue he brought up at the SRC debate, and
in a recent blog post. He slammed the BID's loan program, which offers low interest loans to area businesses for a variety of purposes. Michael Phinney sharply criticized Tatorowicz on this point, which prompted accusation between the two of them of misrepresenting the actual facts of the program itself. This disagreement was followed by a lengthy debate on policy minutiae, which rapidly lost the attention of the audience. Eckman largely stayed out of this confrontation, winning further points with the audience by sticking to comprehensible and relevant issues when it was her turn to speak.
