Candidates' Night Set, Though One Party Participates

Though only one party will participate in the Oct. 18 Candidates’ Night, the discussion will proceed as planned.

Republican candidates Douglas Tomson and Gloria McCauley declined the invitation to the candidates’ night, citing both prior commitments and a desire for a different

“Besides that the date didn’t work, we didn’t believe that the format presented allowed for the broadest amount of student involvement,” Carl Suraci, who is Deputy Mayor and also Tomson and McCauley’s campaign manager, said.

The alternative format would have the candidates visiting the class, as several committee members and mayors have with elementary school classes. Post-class interviews would be included in the visit, for students who wanted to ask the candidates questions. The students would also have the opportunity to shadow the candidates on election day and watch the election returns as they come in for post-election analysis, Suraci said.

“What we found was that it was a rewarding educational experience for the (elementary) students,” he said. “All of them had a great level of curiosity.”

But meeting with the candidates isn’t the sole purpose of the Candidates’ Night, according to organizers.

“The whole point of this forum was to give Hillsborough voters an opportunity to know what their candidates stand for,” Bob Fenster, who teaches the AP US Government and Politics class, said. “They’ll have a small blurb in the local media and that’s it. Currently, Town Committee elections are no better than high school elections. They are a pure popularity contest.”

“The main point of the event is to provide an authentic experience for participating students that requires application of a wide range of social studies and twenty-first century skills and knowledge,” Mingle said. “.  .  . A secondary goal is to offer Hillsborough Township a valuable service There are no other opportunities for the public to hear the views of all candidates for Township Committee in one open forum and this event could provide such a venue.”

But Suraci said Tomson and McCauley are approaching residents each weekend, and answering questions face-to-face.

"The Mayor and Doug Tomson are out knocking on doors every weekend," he said. "They are fielding questions in person. As for anyone suggesting that they are not going to meet with public, they couldn't be farther from the truth.

"We are not looking to hide behind any sort of campaign literature," he said. "The candidates are putting themselves out there every weekend."

The debate fulfils the state’s standards for social studies, which includes a focus on community engagement. As part of the project, the AP US Government students have been researching town issues and creating questions based on their findings, Fenster said.

“We have both general and specific questions based on what the candidates said,” Fenster said. “We’re still going to handle it like we would if the other candidates came then as well. We are going to ask challenging questions of whoever shows up.”

“It was always our intent to run the event for all candidates who accepted the invitation,” Matt Mingle, Supervisor of Social Studies for the district, said. “The proposal to the Board of Education and the invitations to the candidates made it clear that the event would go on even if some candidates declined the invitation. . . The students are grappling with questions about how they can maintain a fair and open forum when only some voices are represented and have had to make adjustments to the format and timing of the event for example.”