The debate was sponsered by the Barkhamsted Womans Club and was held before a packed gymnasium of Barkhamsted residents of all ages. Residents of Barkhamsted should be proud of the performance by all three candidates. In my opinion all of the candidates preformed admirable and all were well versed on the issues facing Barkhamsted. The debate began with the Candidates opening statement and why they were the best qualified for the job. A moderator then asked several questions of the candidates. I'll list the questions here but will only touch on a few of the responses that stuck out in my mind. 1) Teacher negotiations are currently under way at Regional 7, What role would you play in the negotiations? Each candidate stated that the negotiations would fall under the Board of Educations domain, but each would lend support and guidance during negotiations. 2) How would you handle the current town dept. 3) What type of Economic development would you support for the town? Answers ranged from working with New Hartford and Winsted to develop sewer and water lines along RT 44 and re-vitalizing Riverton to fostering Mom and Pop businesses leaving the burden on the business owner for water and septic and opposed to the taxpayers. 4) Do you support procurement of open space by the town? This is just a brief re-cap of the debate. Again, I think all of the candidates preformed well and the residents can rest assured knowing whoever is elected will do a good job. This will be a close one. Who do you think preformed best and why?
Richard