Many thanks to all who participated in and enjoyed the Tri-Town Candidate Forum on Sunday, March 18, in the Holcomb Farm North Pavilion
Over 70 local residents personally met and spoke with ten invited Democrats seeking to serve as the next Governor or State Attorney General. Visiting with voters were five potential future governors including Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, former Conn. Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, previous two-time candidate for Senator and Governor Ned Lamont, former Veterans Affairs Commissioner Sean Connolly, and former West Hartford Mayor, State Senator and Commissioner of the Conn. Dept of Consumer Protection Jonathan Harris. Quite an impressive array of talent and credentials, willing to serve in perhaps the states most arduous role.
Also attending were potential future State Attorney’s General including State Representative Mike D’Agostino, State Senator and Senate Judiciary Co-Chair Paul Doyle, Assistant Attorney General Clair Kindall, former U.S. Attorney’s Office lawyer Chris Mattie and State Representative and House Judiciary Chair William Tong. Again, a wealth of experienced public officials willing to work hard to fill the shoes of their able predecessors and protect citizens rights.
The unique speed-dating format allowed the ten candidates to rotate from table -to-table, spending five minutes at each table and discussing issues eye-to-eye with voters. Questions ranged from fixing the budget crisis to how to manage an office of 200 lawyers. The personal interaction and the information shared far exceeded the expectations of both voters and candidates and all agreed it was both an exciting and rewarding afternoon.
This Democratic forum was taped by Granby Community Television (Cox channel 16) and is available at GCTV16.org for viewing online. Many thanks to the hosts, the Democratic Town Committees of Granby, Simsbury and East Granby, and to all the people who participated in this democratic experience.