As tempted as I was to sing Simon & Garfunkel lyrics all the way, Wednesday’s Norwich PTSA event was not a debate in the traditional sense. “Meet the Candidates” was, however, every bit as entertaining.
Last year, coming off a string of high school play-related columns, I approached “Meet the Candidates” as a theatrical review. I thought myself pretty clever in that tack, until I realized that’s really the only way you can write about it.
The Kennedy-Nixon TV debates probably made the performance aspect of these things most obvious, but it remains true today: these “Meet the Candidates” forums are less about what they say than how they say it.
That said, there were some excellent performances at Wednesday night’s event, some poor ones, and some downright bizarre ones.
I have to give the biggest failing grade to the audience – not those who were there of course, but those who weren’t. With the myriad complex and important issues facing our schools in this time of crisis, I find it appalling – and disturbing – that only about 30 people showed up at Gibson’s auditorium the other night. Sure, 6 p.m. on an unusually gorgeous evening is a tough card to draw, but still the turnout was pathetic given what’s at stake. Kudos to the people who did bother to show up, and even more to those who did so armed with intelligent questions (even if a good share of the audience were school district employees, they are still, I would imagine, taxpayers and voters).
On to the candidates themselves, in the order they appeared on stage:
• Erica Barrows. I had no prior knowledge of or dealings with Barrows before she surfaced as a potential school board member, and I applaud her for stepping up to the plate. As someone who went through the school system with special needs, she would certainly understand and advocate for that population well. She has that “outsider” perspective going for her which is always attractive. However, I have to say that her ongoing banter – on and off stage – with her friend/companion/caregiver (OK, I don’t know who he was) was decidedly ... uncomfortable.
