LEAD South Dakota continues to organize and provide the public with opportunities to engage with state-level politics. On Saturday, August 25, they’re coming to Aberdeen to train volunteers at 1 p.m., then grill Legislative candidates at 2:30 p.m.
The only downside to the latter event is that LEAD has adopted the inferior rotating-small-group format that the League of Women Voters imposed on city council and school board candidates at their May forum. According to my candidate invitation…
This forum will be run slightly differently than others you may have attended. Each candidate will be seated at their own table. Community members from your district will divide into small groups and rotate between the tables (allowing 15 minutes per group). This allows you, the candidate, time to answer individual questions and address personal concerns with your constituents more efficiently than in a larger group setting. At the start, candidates will be allowed 2 minutes to speak to the group as a whole, with the speaking order selected at random draw [LEAD South Dakota, invitation to candidate forum, 2018.08.15].
The small-group forum is not more efficient. Candidates will likely repeat themselves on similar questions from different constituents. The rotating small groups also deny voters the chance to hear every word that every candidate says and come away with a shared set of information about each candidate. The press also cannot fairly cover the rotating small group forum, since no one reporter can hear every question and report the responses that all candidates give to that question.
Separated in small groups, the candidates also lose the chance to hear and respond to each other. If I’m sitting at a table making false statements about my District 3 Senate opponent Al Novstrup, Al should have the chance to respond directly. If Al is misstating the provisions of the bills he sponsors, I should have the chance to correct his misinformation immediately.
The traditional large-group format provides a superior experience for voters, the press, and the candidates. Every candidate gets the same questions and gets the same opportunity to answer them. Reporters can report on each candidate fairly and record the entire event for others to view and evaluate. We get plenty of time to talk to voters individually before and after public events like this; the events themselves should place candidates on the same stage, facing the same questions, enjoying the chance to correct each other’s errors, and showing their knowledge and abilities side by side for the fairest comparison.
But hey, the fact that I don’t like the decor won’t keep me from accepting an invitation to a party. As a candidate for public office, it’s my job to join in public conversations and answer the public’s questions in pretty much whatever format the public poses them. I’ll join LEAD Saturday, August 25, at 2:30 p.m. at the Aberdeen Public Safety Building (that’s the police station) Community Room to answer any questions you all want to bring. See you there!