A League of Women Prep for Candidates Forum

They’ll be up against Game 2 of the World Series Thursday, but at least the Yankees won’t be playing and siphon off potential attendees.  

The Long Beach League of Women Voters are busy preparing to host a candidates forum, at 7:30 p.m. at the Long Beach Library, where incumbents and challengers for Long Beach City Council and Nassau County Legislature will seek constituents’ support.

“These forums provide an opportunity for voters to hear candidates discuss issues face-to-face, and helps them to make more informed decisions on Election Day,” said Eileen Lilly, the Leagues’ director of voter services.

The League is a non-partisan organization with the stated mission to
encourage the informed participation of citizens at all levels of government, and candidates forums are among its various activities, including voters registration.

The League has arranged to have an out-of-town moderator read written questions, submitted by the audience, for the six City Council candidates who are vying for three open seats in the at-large election on Nov. 8. They include Council President Thomas Sofield Jr., Vice President Mona Goodman and second-time candidate Marvin Weiss, who are running on the Republican-Coalition ticket; and three Democrats: City Councilman Len Torres, second-time candidate Fran Adelson and newcomer Scott Mandel. Each will field questions along with the candidates in the 4th Legislative District race, incumbent Republican Denise Ford and Democratic challenger Darlene Tangney.

This year, the League instituted changes based on circumstances surrounding the forum held for the City Council election in 2009. Republican-Coalition candidate John McLaughlin, who was seeking re-election then, initially said he would have to arrive about an hour late to the forum, since he had to attend his thesis class at Queens College, where he was studying for his master’s degree in English.

Leauge members debated and voted on whether to start the forum later to allow McLaughlin to give an opening statement, and questioned were raised about the late scheduling of the forum, on Oct. 28, which some argued would not allow for a story on the forum to appear in the local newspaper before the election. Ultimately, though, McLaughlin managed to participate in the forum on time and went on to win re-election.

But the Long Beach League has since adopted an Empty Chair Debate Resolution, enabling the forum to proceed if a candidate who had indicated he or she would attend doesn’t show up, Lilly explained, and scheduled tonight's forum earlier in the month in order to provide for more press coverage prior to the election.

In the summer of 2009, the Long Beach League nearly folded but was revived, due, in part, to the efforts of Veronica Rose, who serves as president alongside Vice President Sarah Nicholas.

This year, the League counts among its highlights the voter registration drive its members conducated at Long Beach High School that registered 155 new voters.

“Another drive is being planned for the spring,” Lilly said.