With lively Council candidates forums in the Fifth District and Ninth District, Great Expectations' Deliberation Days wrapped up Sunday on a strong note.
From Wednesday through Sunday, citizen dialogues and candidates debates were held in all 10 Council districts, attended by about 450 residents of Philadelphia.
Participants discussed the casino issue and mayoral race, took straw polls on both, then framed the questions that were asked of Council candidates in debates moderated by Inquirer and Daily News journalists.
Full results on the straw polls will be tabulated and revealed Monday, but it was clear that Michael Nutter won the straw poll by a considerable margin, and that participants wanted to approve the ballot question putting limits on casinos by at least a 4-1 margin.
Of course, such a straw poll of a self-selected population is not a valid random sample producing statistically valid results. But it does give you a sense of how the piece of the population that is strongly engaged by this election and these issues views the May 15 choices. In other words, only folks who really care and really follow the issues would turn out for events on the gorgeous spring nights and days we've had this week.
Speaking of showing up, every candidate for district council showed up except one, incumbent Carol Campbell in the Fourth District. Most of the Democratic candidates for at-large seats, and all the Republican ones, took part in debates.
The events with at-large candidates were far more sparsely attended than the district council debates, which drew crowds ranging from 40 people to 110 (the First District event on Friday night).
Audio tape of all the debates will be posted as podcasts on this site, so that voters who didn't make it to the events can listen in and hear the questions and answers that could inform their choices on Election Day.
In every debate, candidates addresses issues of substance from taxes to jobs to guns to zoning reform to affordable housing to schools to trash in the streets.
You'll hear questions about genies from magic lamps, about who really rides SEPTA and even one about "post-coital virginity."
The weekend's events culminated in the mayoral debate and town meeting on WHYY TV Sunday night, co-sponsored by Great Expectations with many G.E. participants in the audience.
Chris Satullo
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