Did Brown cross the line during May 7 debate?
I attended the debate described in Tiffany Revelle”s article “Lakeport chamber hosts debate” (Record-Bee, May 9) between incumbent Rob Brown and Robert Stark.
The tone of the article seemed to confirm that which I had come to realize in reflecting on the debate ? that a seemingly even match throughout between two good, knowledgeable candidates had somehow changed and Mr. Brown had emerged a clear victor.
But what had changed? What I realized is that this final impression was formed from the summaries that each candidate made. Mr. Stark”s summation ? which was given first ? were the ideas he had expressed during the debate, keeping to the positive tone maintained by both candidates throughout. But nevertheless it was what the term implies ? a summary of ideas already expressed. No new information and certainly no attack using new information.
Mr. Brown”s summary was anything but that. The telling point suddenly introduced was that he was so “surprised” that Mr. Stark had not “contacted County department heads… about issues facing the County, ” (Record-Bee quote) so that he would be an informed candidate.
Mr. Brown slowly continued, naming all the key persons using first names; that he works with them all; and that if Mr. Stark “…was going to be serious about this position, he would have done this.” It was effective, as shown by the fact that these ending comments represented the first ideas of his alluded to in your article.
But it was also inappropriate. Mr. Stark never could respond. A civil debate would never feature the most aggressive attacks of the evening (which earlier smacked of a lovefest) using new information to which the other had no opportunity to respond. Kind of like shooting someone in the back.
When I asked Mr. Stark about the content of the attacks, he gave very reasonable answers ? such as he had in fact worked directly with several department heads for years in his capacity as general manager of the Cobb Area County Water District. But he can answer for himself. You may come away with a very different impression of the debate, or even of your first reading of the article.
As a taxpayer I also question the concept of every Tom, Dick, or Larry who runs for supervisor expecting to tie up County department heads” valuable time so that said candidates can become educated about the issues that the directors face. Robert has attended or observed a majority of BOS meetings over the past two years in order to acquaint himself with the issues.
I think that it is entirely possible that Mr. Brown didn”t understand the implications of his musings and the lack of response opportunity. I think it would be easy to make such a mistake when engaging in a fast-paced debate.
Dan Springer
Kelseyville
Editor”s Note: A video report on the May 7 debate between Rob Brown and Robert Stark, including post-debate comments, can be seen at the new Media Center on www.record-bee.com
