There was a debate for the 61^st State Senate District on radio 930, today Sunday.Aug.24, 2008, from 10:30 -12:00 A.M.

The three Democratic candidates, who will primary for this seat on Sept 9^th, were the participants in a debate on the “Hardball with Hardwick” radio show.  The candidates were Michele Iannello, Joe Mesi and Dan Ward.

There were no phone calls allowed during the debate.  Kevin Hardwick asked all the questions.  His questions concerned the 61^st State Senate District.  There were some precise questions plus some broad questions which forced the candidates to think on their feet.

Listening to a radio debate is much different from watching a live or T.V. debate.  You can pick up on different traits about a person when you really listen to them answer, traits that are different from other live media.

There was a major contrast between Joe Mesi and the other two candidates, which was due to Joe’s lack of knowledge and experience in the political arena.  Michele was in attack mode.  She caught Joe in three possible lies he either has on his website or has stated publicly.  Since Joe isn’t used to debates he was an easy target.  He had quite a bit of trouble trying to answer questions he didn’t know.  It was clear he was tutored for certain questions.  When he was confused about a question he would give an answer he could remember. He was frequently brought back to the original question by Mr. Hardwick.

Michele started answering the questions like she was a runaway train.  She quickly calmed down and spoke very clearly.  Here are a few of her ideas and answers.  She was: for the 2^nd Amendment and would like to own a gun; for women to have the right of choice for their unborn and Medicare should pay for it if the person is poor.  Her views on bringing jobs back to our area were to offer tax incentives and setting up a sort of Empire Zone.  She mentioned she had 47 ideas on her web site to improve the 61^st District.

Dan Ward didn’t attack either Joe or Michele.  His answers were to the point and he made them clear enough so people could understand them.  He supports the 2^nd Amendment, he is an avid hunter.  He was the only Pro Life Candidate.  Dan said he would go against the Senate if he felt they were wrong.  He had several new ideas on how to bring business back to our area.  Dan’s maturity was calming, like the statesman he is.

Dan is against gay marriage as was Michele while they also agreed on something like a civil union contract.  Joe would allow gay marriage because if we didn’t we would be violating their civil rights.

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