Video is from Delco Times.
Notes: just slide the bar while playing the video, to jump around.
Around 30% to 40% of the way through is a lively discussion on the budget and the lack of openness.
Just before half-way point, watch and compare Innelli vs McGarrigle on who can manage the $560 million budget.
Watch McGarrigle read from script and even turn page, all with his head down, on the Revitalization question (about 2/3 the way through)
It's almost impossible to hear on the tape, but 75% of the way through the tape, Andy Lewis is following up on a question about economic decline in Delaware County. He starts by saying: "By any objective measurement ... Delaware County has been well managed." This is where the audience murmured its objection to the veracity of that statement. Just be glad we don't have "smell-o-vision", because Andy was shoveling some serious BS.
Showing posts with label Debate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Debate. Show all posts
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
"See Spot Run" and "The Eyes Have It"
Tonight's County Council debate at Riddle Village was a study in contrasts.
The Republican candidates were EXTREMELY scripted. Andy Lewis and especially Tom McGarrigle barely looked up from their talking point notes from which they read verbatim. The Democrats ALL looked the camera and the voters in the audience in the eye and spoke from their knowledge and their philosophy of government.
Ann O'Keefe took a soft spoken approach appealing to voters making a thoughtful choice. David Landau kept up his attack on the cronyism at the courthouse (with the latest stat that 250 out of 255 employees in 12 key department are all Republican). John Innelli was on fire and challenged the GOP fiercely on their made-up numbers.
If you watch the tape, you will notice that McGarrigle rarely glanced up from his notes and was just reading, and with questionable comprehension. Several times I felt that if his time hadn't been cut off, we would have heard: "See Dick and Jane play with the ball. Run Dick. Run Jane. See Spot. Run, Spot. Run." Tom McGarrigle was BY FAR the weakest candidate there.
Andy Lewis's main response to most questions was "current council is doing a great job", or "DA Green is doing a great job". In an amazing bit of irony, Andy talked about having a bi-partisan record in Haverford and claimed how he is for hiring based upon qualifications. However, he failed to mention that township employment in leadership/administrative/key jobs is 100% Republican. Pat Biswanger was nowhere to be seen. There was some speculation that she was under the table, either curled up by Andy's feet or feeding him talking points.
Christine Fizzano-Cannon provided the comedy for the evening with her microphone problems. While she came off as smart/capable (by comparison to Andy and Tom, that is), she was a mass of contradictions. On the one hand, she claims she is for open government, televising council meetings, making meetings more accessible, etc., but on the other hand she had nothing but praise for the current county council which does NONE of those things.
The issue of Open Government generated one of the most lively exchanges. Landau talked about making it easy to get campaign finance records and other information from the courthouse. Fizzano-Cannon claimed that part of the GOP "platform" was open government and, as "proof" the words "open government" could be found on their website.
Suddenly, John Innelli fired back using one the 30-sec "rebuttal cards" to point out how the county budget had a 100 million dollar line item for Federal money with NO DETAILS or breakdown. Fizzano-Cannon threw down with her rebuttal card and claimed the information was readily available at the courthouse.
Well, David Landau was having NONE of that BS. He tossed in his rebuttal card and passionately explained that the Dems had been making requests to the courthouse for SIX months and not only couldn't get the information, but were told it was not on computers, or in different places, or not available, etc. He then pointed out that they made a similar request to Bucks county and got a 700 page answer in 48-hours. John chimed in with the PA number state law that requires the County to keep track of the information that Delaware County claims not to have.
Another highlight was during the debate about a County Health Department. Landau not only advocated for a county health department, but explained why it could occur WITHOUT a tax increase as the State would be picking up half the cost and much of the remain funds were already available. Tom McGarrigle claimed that we couldn't rely on the State, in case the State changed its mind and cut off funding in the future. (Maybe he thought the State wouldn't have the funds if everyone else was as delinquent on paying taxes as he's been.)
John Innelli was quick and decisive on the rebuttal. He pointed out two different State Acts that REQUIRED the state to pay $6 and $1.5 per resident toward health care and environmental health issues. That's $4 million right there that the State has to make available.
On the issue of being able to handle a $560 million budget, Tom McGarrigle talked about his rinky-dink business dealings. The issue was made for John, who mentioned that he has TWO degrees in economics and deals regularly in his law practice with large figures in government fraud and waste cases. John pointed out that he not only knows how to balance the books, but knows from experience how to identify books that appear balanced, but really aren't. While Innelli came off as the most educated candidate, McGarrigle came off as the least. It appears that McGarrigle doesn't have more than a high school education (no mention of college in his thin campaign resume). Managing $560 million should go to the guy with the bigger brain.
In short, the Republicans were ALL about the status quo and how one-party government can be a good thing. The Democrats were about change and cleaning up the one-party side-effects like closed government, waste and stagnation.
The Delco Times also covered the debate. While they didn't declare a winner, they did pick up on some of the same things I saw:
When I find out the televising schedule for the debate, I'll post it here.
The Republican candidates were EXTREMELY scripted. Andy Lewis and especially Tom McGarrigle barely looked up from their talking point notes from which they read verbatim. The Democrats ALL looked the camera and the voters in the audience in the eye and spoke from their knowledge and their philosophy of government.
Ann O'Keefe took a soft spoken approach appealing to voters making a thoughtful choice. David Landau kept up his attack on the cronyism at the courthouse (with the latest stat that 250 out of 255 employees in 12 key department are all Republican). John Innelli was on fire and challenged the GOP fiercely on their made-up numbers.
If you watch the tape, you will notice that McGarrigle rarely glanced up from his notes and was just reading, and with questionable comprehension. Several times I felt that if his time hadn't been cut off, we would have heard: "See Dick and Jane play with the ball. Run Dick. Run Jane. See Spot. Run, Spot. Run." Tom McGarrigle was BY FAR the weakest candidate there.
Andy Lewis's main response to most questions was "current council is doing a great job", or "DA Green is doing a great job". In an amazing bit of irony, Andy talked about having a bi-partisan record in Haverford and claimed how he is for hiring based upon qualifications. However, he failed to mention that township employment in leadership/administrative/key jobs is 100% Republican. Pat Biswanger was nowhere to be seen. There was some speculation that she was under the table, either curled up by Andy's feet or feeding him talking points.
Christine Fizzano-Cannon provided the comedy for the evening with her microphone problems. While she came off as smart/capable (by comparison to Andy and Tom, that is), she was a mass of contradictions. On the one hand, she claims she is for open government, televising council meetings, making meetings more accessible, etc., but on the other hand she had nothing but praise for the current county council which does NONE of those things.
The issue of Open Government generated one of the most lively exchanges. Landau talked about making it easy to get campaign finance records and other information from the courthouse. Fizzano-Cannon claimed that part of the GOP "platform" was open government and, as "proof" the words "open government" could be found on their website.
Suddenly, John Innelli fired back using one the 30-sec "rebuttal cards" to point out how the county budget had a 100 million dollar line item for Federal money with NO DETAILS or breakdown. Fizzano-Cannon threw down with her rebuttal card and claimed the information was readily available at the courthouse.
Well, David Landau was having NONE of that BS. He tossed in his rebuttal card and passionately explained that the Dems had been making requests to the courthouse for SIX months and not only couldn't get the information, but were told it was not on computers, or in different places, or not available, etc. He then pointed out that they made a similar request to Bucks county and got a 700 page answer in 48-hours. John chimed in with the PA number state law that requires the County to keep track of the information that Delaware County claims not to have.
Another highlight was during the debate about a County Health Department. Landau not only advocated for a county health department, but explained why it could occur WITHOUT a tax increase as the State would be picking up half the cost and much of the remain funds were already available. Tom McGarrigle claimed that we couldn't rely on the State, in case the State changed its mind and cut off funding in the future. (Maybe he thought the State wouldn't have the funds if everyone else was as delinquent on paying taxes as he's been.)
John Innelli was quick and decisive on the rebuttal. He pointed out two different State Acts that REQUIRED the state to pay $6 and $1.5 per resident toward health care and environmental health issues. That's $4 million right there that the State has to make available.
On the issue of being able to handle a $560 million budget, Tom McGarrigle talked about his rinky-dink business dealings. The issue was made for John, who mentioned that he has TWO degrees in economics and deals regularly in his law practice with large figures in government fraud and waste cases. John pointed out that he not only knows how to balance the books, but knows from experience how to identify books that appear balanced, but really aren't. While Innelli came off as the most educated candidate, McGarrigle came off as the least. It appears that McGarrigle doesn't have more than a high school education (no mention of college in his thin campaign resume). Managing $560 million should go to the guy with the bigger brain.
In short, the Republicans were ALL about the status quo and how one-party government can be a good thing. The Democrats were about change and cleaning up the one-party side-effects like closed government, waste and stagnation.
The Delco Times also covered the debate. While they didn't declare a winner, they did pick up on some of the same things I saw:
Republicans stuck with their game plan of praising the past efforts of council and committing to continue those efforts in areas like crime prevention, economic redevelopment and open space preservation.
Democrats, meanwhile, pointed to a failure of leadership in health care, population growth, and revitalizing older communities, saying a diverse political spectrum could go a long way to reversing those trends.
- When questioned on handling a large, countywide budget, Democrat John Innelli was able to list his extensive experience in the area of finance, including two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in economics, a degree from the Wharton Business School in finance, and work-related experience as an attorney handling finance matters.
- Landau and Innelli tag-teamed a question on Democrats’ desire for a county health department in light of the unfolding wildfire disaster in California and a recent MRSA outbreak at county schools, beating back calls of a tax increase by citing numerous funding sources from the state and by “cutting the fat” of a bloated county government.
When I find out the televising schedule for the debate, I'll post it here.
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Raging Debate
The Delaware County Council Candidates are having a debate Tuesday Oct 23.
(Hey, that's today!!)
at the Riddle Village Retirement Center, 1048 West Baltimore Pike, Media.
(Hey, that's right across from the Granite Run Mall!)
7:30pm Don't be late for the fireworks or ring-side seats.
I hear the GOP candidates are bringing their timepieces for some refurbishing.
(Oh... they're going to get their clocks cleaned!)
The press will be covering the event.
(Press. Pull. Push. Shove. Blog. I'll be there uncovering it. (I'm not just pixels.))
Will we be able to see Pete Peterson and Andy Reilly's lips moving when the GOP candidates speak?
(I suggest requiring them to drink a glass of water while candidates are speaking.)
If you like this posting, wait to see my posting AFTER the debate.
(Hey, that's today!!)
at the Riddle Village Retirement Center, 1048 West Baltimore Pike, Media.
(Hey, that's right across from the Granite Run Mall!)
7:30pm Don't be late for the fireworks or ring-side seats.
I hear the GOP candidates are bringing their timepieces for some refurbishing.
(Oh... they're going to get their clocks cleaned!)
The press will be covering the event.
(Press. Pull. Push. Shove. Blog. I'll be there uncovering it. (I'm not just pixels.))
Will we be able to see Pete Peterson and Andy Reilly's lips moving when the GOP candidates speak?
(I suggest requiring them to drink a glass of water while candidates are speaking.)
If you like this posting, wait to see my posting AFTER the debate.
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