A classic bit of Americana
A classic bit of Americana
The 43rd annual Bill Mize Forum took place last night at the Rome Grange, a few miles east of Bellingham on the Mt. Baker Highway. This gathering of political candidates, their supporters and all the
The 43rd annual Bill Mize Forum took place last night at the Rome Grange, a few miles east of Bellingham on the Mt. Baker Highway. This gathering of political candidates, their supporters and all the local political junkies is a classic bit of Americana with socializing before and after as part of the event.
27 candidates showed up, spoke and answered questions. KGMI radio broadcast it live and the organizers had the candidates hopping and kept to the schedule. Even the sheriff was cut off in mid-sentence when his time expired. It takes a brave timer to cut off the sheriff in mid-sentence. Bill Elfo just smiled, stopped talking and accepted the polite applause to his 4 minutes of time. He is running unopposed.
Bill Mize started the forum in an attempt to bring citizens of city and the county together for a common evening of political activity. It has worked. Bill also wanted to bring citizens and candidates into closer contact and so at this forum no committee filters or censures the questions. Citizens line up at the microphone and ask the one candidate at the podium their question - in a loosely enforced 10 seconds. And the candidate has 30 seconds to answer. No real time for nonsense or evasiveness. It keeps an audience alert for the two hours. And it provides us all with a valuable opportunity to see into the candidates' personalities and thinking processes.
Some candidates showed their stuff well. Damon Gray was a pleasant surprise. I knew nothing of him and he was quite solid in his speaking. Dave Pros showed himself to be willing to take a stand on several issues on planning. He showed solid knowledge of county planning when answering questions. Ham Hayes spoke very well on how he thinks the city council needs to provide more oversight of departments. And Dan Pike provided the best and clearest statements of any of the mayoral candidates. All from my viewpoint, of course.
There is one more forum - next Tuesday evening. The county council chamber is large and air conditioned. The format should be a good one. Let's hope it is well attended. It will be broadcast live on KGMI radio and Brett Bonner will be the MC. And attendees can form their own opinions of who they like and will vote for.
A thanks to the crew that put on the Bill Mize forum, Russ Weston, John Wilson and Larry West. There were many more who helped pay for the KGMI air time, and the ladies who provided the fine treats after the speaking and the others who helped set up and take down. A fun evening was had by all.
27 candidates showed up, spoke and answered questions. KGMI radio broadcast it live and the organizers had the candidates hopping and kept to the schedule. Even the sheriff was cut off in mid-sentence when his time expired. It takes a brave timer to cut off the sheriff in mid-sentence. Bill Elfo just smiled, stopped talking and accepted the polite applause to his 4 minutes of time. He is running unopposed.
Bill Mize started the forum in an attempt to bring citizens of city and the county together for a common evening of political activity. It has worked. Bill also wanted to bring citizens and candidates into closer contact and so at this forum no committee filters or censures the questions. Citizens line up at the microphone and ask the one candidate at the podium their question - in a loosely enforced 10 seconds. And the candidate has 30 seconds to answer. No real time for nonsense or evasiveness. It keeps an audience alert for the two hours. And it provides us all with a valuable opportunity to see into the candidates' personalities and thinking processes.
Some candidates showed their stuff well. Damon Gray was a pleasant surprise. I knew nothing of him and he was quite solid in his speaking. Dave Pros showed himself to be willing to take a stand on several issues on planning. He showed solid knowledge of county planning when answering questions. Ham Hayes spoke very well on how he thinks the city council needs to provide more oversight of departments. And Dan Pike provided the best and clearest statements of any of the mayoral candidates. All from my viewpoint, of course.
There is one more forum - next Tuesday evening. The county council chamber is large and air conditioned. The format should be a good one. Let's hope it is well attended. It will be broadcast live on KGMI radio and Brett Bonner will be the MC. And attendees can form their own opinions of who they like and will vote for.
A thanks to the crew that put on the Bill Mize forum, Russ Weston, John Wilson and Larry West. There were many more who helped pay for the KGMI air time, and the ladies who provided the fine treats after the speaking and the others who helped set up and take down. A fun evening was had by all.
