Audience Informed, But Generally Unswayed By Debate

The audience at Wednesday night’s in Germantown had enough personality and enthusiasm to qualify as an eighth participant.

There were cheers, laughs and more than one instance when the debate’s moderator, Newsworks’ Chris Satullo, asked the audience to limit their reactions, for the sake of those listening on the radio.

While each candidate sparked their fair share of cheers from those in attendance, many said after the debate, that their minds weren’t changed by the two hours of questions and answers.

“I came with Greg Paulmier in mind,” said David Schogel, a Germantown resident and a member of Philly Neighborhood Networks. “I’m leaving with Paulmier on my mind. I thought he did very well. He has a lot of experience, which came through, and he has a sense of humor, which also came through.”

Some found the debate informative, and helpful with the issues that mattered. Among the were whether the candidates would vote for a Council President who had taken DROP payments, revitalization of commercial districts, how the candidates would be transparent and accessible to constituents and gun violence in the district, among many others.

“I thought the debate was very informative. The dialogue between the candidates was very uplifting and a lot of cogent information was given to the audience,” said Larry Hunt, who previously served as the manager of Fay Dawson’s campaign, before Dawson was eliminated during petition challenges.

Others were less enthusiastic about the results of the debate, noting that many candidates were similar in their ideals.

One attendee, who asked not to be named, said, “There were really no stand-outs. They were all towing the line, not saying anything to get them in trouble. They all recycle and said they wouldn’t support a DROP candidate for Council President. They all played it safe.”

Although Cindy Bass said that she wouldn’t commit to vote or not vote for anyone, to keep her options open, the remaining six candidates all stood against electing a president who had taken money from deferred retirement.

Check back with Patch next week to learn more about the candidates. Chestnut Hill Patch will be running candidate profiles throughout the week of May 2.