October 4, 2005
Meet the Candidates
By Kathleen Amoia and Michael J. Sanders

The crucial need for common sense, good planning, and competence on every level of government has been brought home to all of us over the past month via our TV screens. As Killingworth prepares to elect its town officials, we are being offered opportunities to hear our candidates for First Selectman and Selectmen over the next few weeks. This is our chance to get to know them better, to let them know our concerns for Killingworth's future, and to make wise choices on Election Day .

The first event was an informal address at the Killingworth Seniors' Center by candidates for First Selectman and Selectman. The discussion took place on October 3 at 2:00 during the Seniors' regular meeting at the Congregational Church.

The second meeting will take place at the Haddam Killingworth High School Auditorium on October 6th from 12:30 to 2:00 under the auspices of HK's Chuck Lewis. It will be moderated by the League of Women Voters. This will be a more formal debate between the First Selectman candidates, John Amport and Marty Klein. There will be questions from high school seniors and the public is invited to attend. It will be televised and we will all be able to catch it over the next few weeks on Channel 18. A serendipitous sidebar to this particular debate is the involvement of young voters in the formalities of political campaigns and the political process, Civics in action.

Elise Low, President of the East Shore League of Women Voters, headquartered in Guilford, is moderating the debates. The League of Women Voters is a non- partisan political organization that seeks to improve government through citizen education and advocacy. It neither opposes nor supports any particular candidate but concentrates on making the democratic process work for the citizenry.

A roundtable discussion between the three candidates for selectmen , Fred Dudek, Steve Hollander, and Ed Sipples on October 20th at the Congregational Church in Killingworth should be lively and informative. Town folk are invited to attend the discussion which will begin at 8:00pm.

On Tuesday, October 25th , again under the auspices of the League of Women Voters, the First Selectman candidates, John Amport and Marty Klein, will debate each other in the Clubhouse at Jensen's Beechwood Community. The debate will begin at 7:00 and is open to Beechwood residents only.

The intricacies of scheduling such discussions are many and varied. Michael J. Sanders, Chairman of the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee, and John Amport, Chairman of the Killingworth Republican Town Committee, worked diligently to make the schedules work for everyone. That was the hard part. We just have to show up and, of course, to vote on Election Day, November 8th .

( For more about the Killingworth Democratic Town Committee visit our website at www.killingworth.dems.info)

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