BY DAN CAMPANA
We told you there was a lot to bring up from a busy week in the mayoral campaign.
Here's a sampling of tidbits from Wednesday night's forum. Let's start with a few observations.
If you logged on to The Beacon's live blog coverage, you probably saw my pregame thoughts about what to look for from Mayor Tom Weisner, Alderman Stephanie Kifowit and Alderman Richard Irvin.
* Campana asked: How will Weisner hold up in what essentially will be a two-on-one situation? At the City Council, pro-Weisner aldermen are there to back him up. Not the case tonight.
-- What happened: Weisner appeared more off the cuff than some might have expected, especially when he decided to roam the stage. He was particularly blunt in his feelings on downtown businesses that have struggled or failed. He deflected some criticism lobbed at him by turning it around on his opponents, and didn't show much frustration in what did very much turn out to be a two-on-one event.
* Campana asked: For Kifowit, how will she maintain a focus on her points without getting bogged down in long-winded explanations?
-- What happened: She did her best to spell things out in limited amounts of time, didn't miss a chance to rebut her opponents and drove home an unwillingness to accept what she's seen in six years on the City Council. But, over the course of close to 90 minutes, Kifowit's responses got a little rambling and lacked some continuity the more eager she got to pounce on what others had said.
* Campana asked: For Irvin, can he back up his expected attacks on Weisner with some substance for his plans?
-- What happened: Irvin ran his gameplan of lashing at Weisner's record and lack of strong leadership, while establishing himself as a hometown guy who has found success through his hard work in a city with opportunities. I'm not sure anyone walked out of Copley Theater knowing any more about Irvin's specific platforms, but it doesn't seem like that's a priority right now from his camp. Waxing poetic and dropping in a President Obama reference at the end probably drew some mixed reactions.
Until the next forum -- sponsored by The Beacon on March 12 at Aurora University -- the trio resumes the volleying of press releases at one another and spending Tuesday nights together.
Now, more fun, brought to you by Beacon reporter Matt Hanley. He covered the forum and filed wrote a solid report on what happened. He also had a few extraneous highlights to share.
-- To kick off the night, Kifowit introduced herself by saying, "Pretty much, my name is Alderman Kifowit."
-- When asked by the moderator asked what mistake you have made, Irvin said, "Can I stand in silence for my two minutes?"
The mayor jumped right in. "If you can't think of anything, I can," Weisner said.
-- And, the out-of-context quote of the night: "Whether it was drug dealing, gang banging, I was part of that," Irvin said.
He was referring to the cases he handled as a community prosecutor in Aurora.
I have to say it. Your Kifowit response is pretty condescending. I guess what can you expect from a press that is male dominated. Weisner's last sentence is a positive, and Irvin's is neutral in context but you leave Kifowit's on the negative throughout. I was at the debate and I find it not at all; everyone rebuttaled and I hardly found a statement she said as rambling. In fact, Weisner did most of the rambling.
We saw the slanted way of reporting from the press when Hilary was running, and it is obvious that we are seeing it here at the Beacon as well.
I have to agree. Weisner was really getting annoying by not following the time limit. He went past his time limit so many times and he really wasn't saying anything. He was the rambler.
I have to comment: I thought Weisner was terrible at the debate. He said things that didn't make sense, and to be honest, I liked Bambina's. He always went over his time, which showed me that he had no regard for any of the parameters that we set. He was very demeaning especially his views on failing businesses. He lost my vote Weds. night.
I believe that Richard Irvin should drop out. After his performance Weds night, it is apparent to me that he is just running because he wants to be like Obama. Sorry, but his sob story about his upbringing didn't move me to vote for him, nor did it show that he has any kind of leadership. It's sad that someone is just running for Mayor for their own interests and not really for the interest of the betterment of the City.
That of course leaves Kifowit, which I have to say, I was impressed more than I thought I would be. I haven't heard her speak before, and her points were very precise and I realize that she does have a plan and more over, it was clear that she is truly running to make a difference.
My vote has shifted from Weisner to Kifowit.
Kifowit needs to drop the "Pretty much" before every answer. It was distracting and made me think she is a light-weight.