Dan's first ever angry rant

City Council candidates Elton Armady (l) and
Ron Johnson (r) faced off at Tuesday's LWV forum.

I have never before written an angry rant, so this is going to be the first.

I went to the League of Women Voters candidate forum at Emerson School Tuesday evening -- for the 35th year since I moved to Plainfield -- looking forward to hearing from the candidates. (The League of Women Voters will celebrate 100 years of conducting forums in 2020.)

The forums have always been well-attended and helpful, and always well-run. Until Tuesday.

What a disappointment.

Forget about policy differences between the Council candidates -- the evening didn't even rise to that.

For starters, the forum started late, for no apparent reason. There was a reasonable crowd there at the appointed time (6:30 PM) and the candidates -- Elton Armady and Ron Johnson -- were seated at the table and ready.

Yet the clock ticked on for more than another ten minutes. People around me were asking why the delay.

Then the forum actually began and that is what makes me so angry.

Neither of the candidates' opening remarks could be heard beyond the first row (I was sitting in the second).

I don't fault the school district employee who set up the sound system. He has done it many times before and things on his end went well.

However, the LWV leadership did not have the candidates speak to test the system before the forum began to make sure they could be heard throughout the room.

Neither candidate projects well, and they both sat too far from the mikes (inexcusable for Armady, who has been on the Council for several months now and should know better).

I wonder whether a liberal arts education -- which both candidates have -- still includes an introductory course on public speaking (which every freshman in my college had to take -- and pass).

The most annoying habit was "ummms" and "errrrrs", which a speaking course quickly rids one of.

And how about looking at the whole audience to engage them?

What difference did it make if the candidates didn't agree on issues if no one could hear them?

The League leadership -- and the candidates -- should care enough about the voting public to do better.

I didn't stay for the school board candidates. Had enough!

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 -- Dan Damon [ follow ]

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