League of Women Voters (LWV) moderator, Dawn Clarke, asked the 30 or so people in the audience to write down their questions on index cards that were provided by the LWV and explained the format that was going to be followed since the debate was absent of any Democratic Party candidate, especially Carl Hokanson, “We have to continue with the mayoral debate because both Mr. Murphy and Mr. Accardi are able to be here and go through with the debate.”
The question & answer section of the debate was held to a 90-second answer from each candidate followed by the opportunity for a 30-second rebuttal. The mayoral debate would be followed by an informal discussion with the council candidates that were in attendance, Modesto Miranda and Tanya Torres. Mrs. Clarke, in response to a pre-debate question from the audience, stated that all questions would be asked of both candidates, regardless of who the written question was directed.
The questions from those in attendance included Roselle Park’s $19,800,000 debt, the downtown area, communications with the public, economic revitalization, the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), the business community, the number of police officers, the youth in the borough, and the role of the mayor.
The section devoted to the council candidates consisted of Mrs. Dawn Clarke reading statements from Gene Antonucci and James Lloyd while the candidates present for the debate read their statements themselves.
