Providence Mayor's "UnDebate" - April 1
Posted by: Brian Hull
in Providence
on April 01, 2010 
Join founding members of the Uncaucus, friends, fellow voters, and comrades from the city of Providence in an UnDebate, where those interested in serving as our next Mayor listen instead of talk.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Doors open at 6:30pm, event runs from 7-8:30pm, networking follows
Waterplace Restaurant
1 Finance Way (across from the mall)
Providence, RI
This Thursday, citizens of Providence will have a unique opportunity: for 90 minutes, candidates for the City's top job—Mayor—will sit quietly and listen to your ideas. Why? Because they all agree that it's important to have more citizens involved in the conversation about the future of our city.
The idea is simple: get residents talking more about solutions and new ideas. We asked the participating mayoral candidates to submit a few questions they wanted the citizens of Providence to answer. And on Thursday, we'll have the chance to do exactly that.
Click here to see a list of potential questions (all of which are thoughtful and engaging) which the candidates will be asking the attendees. Prepare yourself to answer one, two, or a few of these. It's the perfect moment to influence these candidates.
Declared candidates who have confirmed their attendance: Daniel Harrop (R), John Lombardi (D) and Angel Taveras (D); and Carrie Marsh (I) and Joe Paolino (D), who are undeclared but considering a run.
During the program, our moderator Mike Ritz, of Leadership RI, will pose these questions to the audience. We will allow approximately 20 minutes for each topic area (although some may be a little shorter and some longer). Audience participants will have one-minute to share their answers and ideas.
Remember: the idea is to talk solutions, not problems. Let's show the candidates that we have real ideas, real enthusiasm and a sincere commitment to keep our City moving towards its full potential.
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written by Bruce Reilly, March 31, 2010
My beef is this:
I don't want to give away all my ideas in the season preceding an election, nor put together their Talking Points. Cicillini proved expert in the Co-opt, Pacify, and Sell-Out Technique. You can call it the ol' CPS (trademark pending). Obama is also revealing his mastery.
I want them to prove they were a good candidate the day before they declared, just like any job interview.
QUESTION: In a city full of low-income people in communities of Color, highlighted by a school system that is almost 90% youth of Color (coming of age in your possible Administration)... What four or five issues do you think they hold most important, and what steps would you take to deal with those issues?
If a candidate wants any of my ideas, he or she can call me at work.
They don't have to have all the answers, they just need to prove their skills in how to find out. But if they don't "get" the problems, they shouldn't even be at the table.
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On the surface this seems like a great idea. But much like the Tea Party, superficial looks can be quite deceiving; actions quite different from stated purpose.
So pardon my caution, but does anyone have any comments or thoughts about this group, information about their motivations, or know anything about the people who created it?