Image by Krzysztof Pacholak via Flickr
Close to 70 parents and residents of the West Chester Area School District attended a “Meet the Candidates” debate with potential candidates for the district’s board of directors at East High School Wednesday evening.
The debate, hosted by the Parent Teacher Organization Council (PTOC), featured the same eight candidates from Tuesday’s debate at the Daily Local News, as the Republican candidates declined an invitation to attend because of the presence of the six write-in candidates. Candidates in attendance included Democrat Wayne Burton, self-proclaimed Independent Ted Diehl and the write-in candidates — Jim Smith, Rick Swalm, Sue Tiernan, Spencer Virta, Gary Bevilacqua and Toni Keg.
Though the Republican candidates were not in attendance, a student representative from the Young Republicans in the school district handed out fliers regarding the candidate’s decision to not attend the event. The handout stated, “(The Republican), and other, candidates on the ballot submitted themselves to the financial background checks, interviews, and the election process this past spring which gave you, the voters, a say, as well.”
“The ‘write-in’ candidates had until Aug. 1 to get their names on the ballot for November, but chose not to do so. Anyone can write his/her name on an election ballot; however, one cannot enter a marathon at Mile 23 and expect to be on the same footing as those who have been in it from the start,” the statement continued.
In closing, the statement said the candidates are available for debates with other candidates on the ballot as they did on Sunday in a debate organized by the League of Women Voters. The Republican candidates also made themselves available at the West Chester high schools where they spoke with members of the Young Republicans. For more information on the debate check out the full article at Dailylocal.com!
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