CUNY Poli-Sci Professor to moderate NY-19 Congressional Debate in Southeast Dutchess
Democrats in Southeast Dutchess County will hold a distinctive Debate for Congressional District 19 at Lakeside Park in Pawling, NY on Friday, February 23 from 7-9 pm and reception afterwards. Five out of the six candidates competing to win the Democratic Primary Election in late June will be attending. They are: Jeff Beals, Dave Clegg, Antonio Delgado, Brain Flynn and Gareth Rhodes.
Political Science Professor Jill Norgren will moderate using a format with a long initial response and shorter rebuttals from one randomly selected candidate and two opposing nominees for each of 10 questions. The order and assignment of individual questions will be based on numbers drawn before the debate. The format is designed to showcase the candidate’s knowledge as well as promote in-depth discussion of critical issues expected in the 2018 election.
Questions and topics are being collected from the public ahead of time and can be submitted at info@PawlingDems.org. Audience members will have a chance to meet the candidates in person afterwards and volunteer to collect signatures to help them earn a place on the primary ballot. That process begins March 5.
The Lakeside Park auditorium in Pawling, NY was specifically chosen in this Republican dominated area of the county with neighboring towns of Beekman, Union Vale and La Grange whose Democratic Committees are hosting the event along with Pawling, the Dutchess County Young Democrats and NYTake19. The goal is to help win against Incumbent John Faso but also to identify and attract new voters who will participate in local races in 2019.
Norgren taught government, law and society and women’s studies at CUNY John Jay College and the University Graduate Center and is author of books on US legal figures in history. Two recent books are “Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would be President” and “Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America’s First Women Lawyers.”
The event will be videotaped and posted online afterwards at www.Facebook.com/Pawlingdems
