Lambertville is having a contested mayoral primary election for the first time this century, and the two candidates will appear Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m., at Lambertville Station Restaurant and Inn to answer questions from interested residents.
The event is sponsored by PA NJ Radio, Indivisible Lambertville-New Hope and Lambertville Station.
Democrats will choose on June 5 between incumbent David Del Vecchio, who has been mayor for the past 27 years, and challenger, Julia Fahl.
At 6 p.m. at the May 17 event, the first candidate (order determined by a coin toss) will be available just outside the Riverside Ballroom at Lambertville Station to meet with voters for a half an hour. At 6:30 p.m., attendees will have an opportunity to submit questions to moderators, with the first candidate appearing for about 45-50 minutes.
After a brief recess, the second candidate will take questions in the same room, with a meet-and-greet with attendees immediately following.
RSVPs are limited to the first 50 people to sign up, and can be made on the Eventbrite page. There are only two reservations per email address allowed, and the RSVPs will open on Saturday, May 5, at 10 a.m.
Those who can’t get a seat for the event may still submit questions to one or both of the candidates by using this Google Form.
Additionally, PA NJ Radio will post a downloadable podcast of the interviews on their website, and will also be airing the interviews daily until election day — check their website for the schedule.
UPDATE 5/13: The event has moved to the Riverside Ballroom to accommodate a larger crowd.
Although the format is different it seems to offer more time for each candidate to provide information without artificial 1 minute and 30 second and similar limitations. Also seems likely to avoid “gotcha’focus rather than detailed information about running the city. The questions will determine the value of the format.
So, since Julia Fahl has publicly asked for a debate, and they are not doing that, it’s clear that David Del Vecchio does not want to be challenged by her. What’s he afraid of? It’s all so complicated. Having to get an RSVP ticket and then if you can’t you get a chance of your question being answered if you fill out a form. This is all so shady.
When you say both candidates agreed upon, I am curious, because I know Julia has been asking for a true debate?
Why separate Q/A, can you please update with reason this was chosen? I’ m familiar with candidates together on stage responding to same questions.
This was the format both candidates could agree upon.