Here is a complete blip.tv video of a mayoral debate sponsored by the Daily Hampshire Gazette. The debate took place on 10/26/09 in the JFK School Community Room. Michael Bardsley squared off against incumbent Clare Higgins. This video is 2 hours 1 minute long and was recorded by Lachlan Ziegler.
Here is the debate program:
See also:
Gazette: “Mayoral hopefuls tangle” (10/26/09)
“Open decision-making is not a matter of style,” [Bardsley] said in his opening remarks. “It is an issue of substance. We must address the eroding of this trust to move forward…”
…”Closing any one of those [elementary] schools will do irreparable damage to this community,” he said.
Higgins said that small class sizes are her top priority, but when pressed, she said would not make the same pledge as Bardsley.
“It’s not a pledge that I can honor … but I pledge to try and do my best to honor those learning communities,” she said.
Northampton Media: “Candidates: Would You Close a School?” (10/27/09)
Bardsley remarked that the ongoing threat of school closures “erodes the morale” of teachers and parents, and invoked the goals of the Sustainable Northampton Plan in arguing that the Bridge Street Elementary School, within walking distance of downtown, be preserved.
Video: Bay State Village Forum for Mayoral Candidates, 10/21/09; Term Limits; North Street Condo Proposal
Video: Mayoral Debate on Jobs, Business & The Economy, 10/21/09
Video: Mayoral Debate Sponsored by GREEN Northampton and WRSI, 10/20/09
Video Highlights from the 10/19/09 Mayoral Debate: Wetlands, King Street, Infill and the BID
Video: Higgins and Bardsley at Social Justice Forum, 10/10/09