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No Gloves Off in Debate
On Wednesday, February 4, the Lamar County Republican Party and Republican Women of Red River Valley held a debate for the local candidates running in the upcoming elections. Or did they? Yes, there was an event. Yes, many candidates were there. Yes, the candidates spoke and even answered a question. But it was more of a forum than a debate. In fact, no one debated at all.
The room was packed. It was standing room only. There were at least 100 seats for the audience. Candidate tables were set up on the perimeter of the room. Each table had two or more chairs. And yet more than 50 people stood in the back of the room watching the event. There were close to 200 people in attendance. The event was live-streamed and available to watch online.
Represented were the candidates for Justice of the Peace precincts 2, 4 and 5, County Commissioners precincts 2 and 4, County Chair, County Judge and TX HD1 State Representative.
Candidates were brought to the stage by the office for which they were running, beginning with JOP Precinct 2. Each candidate was given a timed turn to make an opening statement. Each was then given a turn to answer one question. Finally, they took turns making a closing remark. The question was the same for all, “What makes you the best candidate for the job and what do you want to accomplish in this position?”
If you’ve ever taken a public speaking course, you learned this: Tell them what you’re going to say. Say it. Tell them what you said. That’s what happened in this forum. Candidates opened by stating their qualifications and why they were running. They answered the “What makes you the best candidate…” question by stating their experience and why they were running. The words were changed around a bit in the closing, but the content was the same for most.
Key words that were heard over and over included: Listening, transparency, availability, fairness, dignity, respect and openness.
Candidates were well-behaved. There was no back and forth. A few touched on some interesting ideas, but there was little time to get into detail.
Not until Josh Bray and Chris Spencer took the stage was there a hint of excitement. It began with Chris talking about a flier that came out against him two years ago and decrying any involvement with a negative flier about his opponent, Josh Bray. The two then each talked about taxes. Chris talked about the Marvin Nichol’s reservoir. Finally, Josh addressed the fliers being sent out against him. The innuendo was that Chris was involved with the organization sending those out.
The event concluded with audience members meeting and talking to the candidates.
The room was packed. It was standing room only. There were at least 100 seats for the audience. Candidate tables were set up on the perimeter of the room. Each table had two or more chairs. And yet more than 50 people stood in the back of the room watching the event. There were close to 200 people in attendance. The event was live-streamed and available to watch online.
Represented were the candidates for Justice of the Peace precincts 2, 4 and 5, County Commissioners precincts 2 and 4, County Chair, County Judge and TX HD1 State Representative.
Candidates were brought to the stage by the office for which they were running, beginning with JOP Precinct 2. Each candidate was given a timed turn to make an opening statement. Each was then given a turn to answer one question. Finally, they took turns making a closing remark. The question was the same for all, “What makes you the best candidate for the job and what do you want to accomplish in this position?”
If you’ve ever taken a public speaking course, you learned this: Tell them what you’re going to say. Say it. Tell them what you said. That’s what happened in this forum. Candidates opened by stating their qualifications and why they were running. They answered the “What makes you the best candidate…” question by stating their experience and why they were running. The words were changed around a bit in the closing, but the content was the same for most.
Key words that were heard over and over included: Listening, transparency, availability, fairness, dignity, respect and openness.
Candidates were well-behaved. There was no back and forth. A few touched on some interesting ideas, but there was little time to get into detail.
Not until Josh Bray and Chris Spencer took the stage was there a hint of excitement. It began with Chris talking about a flier that came out against him two years ago and decrying any involvement with a negative flier about his opponent, Josh Bray. The two then each talked about taxes. Chris talked about the Marvin Nichol’s reservoir. Finally, Josh addressed the fliers being sent out against him. The innuendo was that Chris was involved with the organization sending those out.
The event concluded with audience members meeting and talking to the candidates.