Rockland Residents Work to Bring 2016 Presidential Debate to RCC

A committee of county residents held a party Monday night to kick off their effort to bring a 2016 presidential debate to the campus of Rockland Community College.

The committee, called “Rockland Debates 2016” has submitted an application to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), and has hosted the U.S. Secret Service and CPD production staff for a site survey of the proposed debate facilities.

“We believe that Rockland Community College would be an outstanding and appropriate site for the 2016 debate,” said Dr. Cliff L. Wood, RCC’s president. “Hosting the debate at RCC would bring a tremendous benefit to our students as well as to the greater community.”

Rockland Community College is one of 16 applicants for the debates — three presidential and one vice-presidential, all to be held in the fall of 2016. The host sites will be announced in the fall of 2015. If chosen as a debate site, RCC would be the first community college to host a presidential debate, and the first public-private partnership, organizers said.

Key benefits to Rockland County would include tourism and economic development, marketing and infrastructure improvements to the college, debate-related educational programs, positive exposure and media coverage, and increased passion and pride within the community, according to the members of Rockland Debates 2016.

The effort was initiated by nine members of the 2014 graduating class of Leadership Rockland, a not- for-profit program designed to educate and inform leaders in the community about the inner workings of Rockland County. They’re working in concert with the administration of RCC.

“Rockland County is a microcosm of our nation with respect to demographic, cultural and economic diversity. Our mission is to showcase our community in a way that brings positive exposure and economic development to Rockland, while creating a unifying and electrifying experience in which all of Rockland can partake,” said Matt Deutschman, chair of Rockland Debates 2016.

According to Rockland Debates 2016, Rockland County would be an ideal location for a debate due to its proximity to New York City, the appeal of a community college in light of President Obama’s recent plan for higher education, the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge, RCC’s 3D Printing Smart Lab and the college’s focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics.