Village Elections

The format will be Q&A, and the candidates will certainly have the opportunity to talk about why they're running, what's right about the Village and what could be improved. Topics will include: communication with residents, budgets and accountability, status of the water system, planning and zoning, and how the Village and Town work together.

As we'd done for Consolidation, the Beet will help by assembling questions. (And keep watching this space - we're working on how to collect issues & questions of importance from you.) There will also be the chance to ask questions on Facebook during the shows.

We've assured the candidates that there won't be "gotcha" questions (that's not how Sandro, George & The OG roll!) and that we'll send out the questions ahead of time.

Steve Goldberg, Greg Bernard, Michael Mersand, and Drew Montgomery have confirmed that they'll join.

Lauri Taylor, Jerry Locascio and Tom Meyer have declined. In the spirit of full transparency, here's their letter on why they won't be joining, and the Beet's response:

Dear Steve,

We would like to thank the Pawling Beet for the opportunity to post our palm cards for the upcoming Village election on November 2^nd.

In response to your request regarding an appearance on the Sandro, George and O.G. show, we must respectfully decline for reasons stated below.

We and the general public are fully aware of Steve Goldberg’s involvement with the Pawling Beet as well as yours and Sandro’s full support of his candidacy. There have been occasions during Village Board meetings, when Steve Goldberg, (Mayoral candidate), has asked questions on behalf of the Pawling Beet. Very recently, we have observed two of Mr. Goldberg’s election signs displayed on the lawn of one of the cofounders of the Pawling Beet. This gives us the impression that there could be a bias and slant with regard to how this event would be handled and would give the other candidates an unfair advantage. We would prefer a fair format where all candidates are treated equally.

As done in the past, by printed papers, every candidate was asked the same questions. The candidates could then send in their written responses to be published on the Pawling Beet. This would avoid any chance for unnecessary hostility, bias, or debate over issues in opposition between parties. We certainly hope that the Pawling Beet can be an impartial, objective, and a fact-based community publication. We are a small village that deserves factual information presented in a fair way with the best intentions for our community.

Thank you again for your considerations.

Respectfully,

Jerry LocascioThomas MeyerLauri Taylor

And here's the reply from the Beet addressing their concerns:

Jerry, Tom, Lauri,

Thanks for getting back to us.

Unlike many past Village elections, there are real choices this time around, with more candidates than open seats. That’s healthy for the Village, and that’s why residents need to approach this vote with as much information as possible. It’s unfortunate that you won’t be participating, mostly because that’s a missed opportunity for the community to hear from all the candidates.

On your concerns about bias, I believe the Beet demonstrated very clearly during Consolidation that, despite having strongly felt opinions about the best outcome, we were able to provide concise, “just the facts” materials that helped community members make their own informed decisions.

That’s all we’re trying to do around these elections.

If you’ve read our summaries of Village Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals meetings, I think you’d be hard pressed to find any signs of bias, even with contentious issues. And we’ve heard that from the community, who recognize that we strive to be objective, perhaps to a fault in some cases.

And while you are taking inventory of lawn signs, you might note that there are no signs, for any candidate, on the lawn of the Beet actually covering the Village Election. That was a deliberate decision to avoid even any suggestion of bias by the Beet.

On Steve Goldberg’s involvement with the Beet, he did contribute a few meeting summaries when we first started up in the summer of 2020, but that ended when he joined the Village Planning Board. While he occasionally asks a question “for the Beet” at meetings, that’s just been his way of gaining clarity on some issue so that there’s an accurate record for our writeups. Nothing more than that.

On publishing written answers, we’re more than happy to post any additional material you have beyond the palm cards you’ve already provided. But that doesn’t really address the Facebook Live shows that Sandro, George, and Mike plan to hold. As Mike made clear over the weekend, they don't have any interest in “gotcha” questions, and he offered to provide the questions ahead of time. That seems like a fair format where all candidates are treated equally.

In any case, as they say, the show must go on! The candidates who join the Facebook Live sessions will have that opportunity to share directly with Village residents. Again, it’s unfortunate that the Positively Pawling group has decided not to participate and won't have that same platform.

Steve De Gennaro for The Beet

We'll keep you posted if anything changes as we get closer to the shows.

Update 10/7: Some of the candidates have come back and said that they might reconsider not participating after they've had a chance to review the questions to be asked. Later today, we'll add a form to the Beet where you'll be able to submit your "Top 3" questions for the candidates. We'd like to keep that live for about a week to give everyone a chance to contribute.

Update 10/13: All of the candidates have now agreed to participate, so we'll have a full house, and that's great for the Village!