Easton Democrats Will Hold Candidate Forum For Voters On Nov. 1

**News Release Submitted by Easton Democratic Town Committee**

Oct. 3, 2023

Chair of the Easton Democratic Town Committee Nanette DeWester today announced that the DTC will hold a town-hall style forum for Easton voters to meet and question Democratic candidates on Wednesday, November 1 at the Easton Public Library at 8pm prior to the November 7 municipal elections.

“This year we were eager to adopt a format that gives voters more control over the questions and candidates more time to take questions directly from the audience,” said DeWester.

She continued, "We had contacted both The Easton Courier and the League of Women Voters to secure a neutral moderator for this year's candidate debate with the Republicans because the purpose of these events is to educate voters. We have seen a marked decline in civil discourse, especially at Board of Selectmen meetings, where uncivil behaviors and the spread of disinformation intimidate others and reduce participation by everyone else. We wanted to avoid that in our candidate events this year by working with a neutral group and moderator who would require everyone to comply with basic ground rules governing time limits and civility."

DeWester added that the rise in disrespectful behavior in public meetings has gotten so bad that the DTC launched an initiative this spring calling for a return to respect and civility in public meetings, and an insistence on facts instead of disinformation.

For several weeks Republican and Democratic campaigns had been in direct contact about finding dates for candidate debates, but Republicans recently notified Democrats via email that they had decided to hold their own candidate forum on their own terms. They gave Democrats a narrow window of 72 hours to respond. And without customary collaboration on ground rules, time limits, or the choice of a neutral moderator to ensure community voices are heard, Democrats have declined and will hold their own forum on Nov. 1.

“Something similar happened in the last election cycle as reported in the Easton Courier when Republicans scheduled a candidate event without coordinating with Democrats in advance,” said DeWester. “It’s standard for Republicans and Democrats to work together to establish ground rules, find mutually acceptable dates and select a neutral moderator. Wendy Bowditch knows this because she was the Republican negotiator in 2021," DeWester said. "Those ground rules are more important now than ever and it makes sense for Republicans to hold their own forum. I hope voters in Easton will attend both events and with two events, voters will have even more time and opportunity to ask the questions that matter to them, which was our objective to begin with. We are in favor of anything that gives Easton voters the information they want prior to the election."

DeWester said that the Easton DTC will hold its forum on Nov. 1 in the Easton Public Library and will publicize the event widely in advance so everyone in town can attend.