City Council Candidate Forum and Debate

Live from the WCCA TV-13 studio (415 Main Street, Worcester, MA.

This program is a partnership between WCCA, WCRN radio, and the InCity Times.

Co-hosts: Mauro DePasquale (WCCA), Rosalie Tirella (InCity Times), Hank Stoltz and Peter Blute (WCRN).

Video downloads: Should be available sometime Thursday.

The program will be rerun:

• Friday Oct. 5 at 9:30pm

• Saturday, Oct. 6 at 10:00am
• Sunday, Oct. 7 at 12 midnight
• Sunday, Oct. 7 at 7:30pm

Some questions for the candidates:

1. (Question for Mayoral Candidates) What will be your top three priorities during your first 100 days in office? How will you accomplish
   your three goals?

2. What, in your view, is Worcester's biggest budget buster, and what will you do to rein it in?
3. Worcester was great when its many factories were humming - when it was an industrial powerhouse. How can we expand the job base here so that more good-paying jobs come to Worcester?
4. In 1955, Worcester was on the cover of National Geographic magazine - a city truly on the move that was profiled in depth by a national
   publication. How would you put us on the cover of a major magazine today?

5. (Question for Mayoral Candidates) Describe the character traits needed to be a great leader. How do you embody these traits?
6. City Square - supposedly the centerpiece of our downtown revitalization efforts - seems to be "stuck." What can Worcester do to expedite its development?
7. Will you or will you not vote to raise taxes.? If your answer is "NO," how will we close the city budget gap this year and make sure we can pay our bills next fiscal year?
8. Are you still for the PILOT - Payment In Lieu of Taxes - program? If so, how would you enact it (the City Council voted for it over two years ago)?
9. How can our public school staffs and City Hall departments become more diverse so that Worcester's many races, socio-economic groups and cultures are represented in all levels of city government?
10. Will you work to keep our neighborhood swimming pools open, or are they destined to go the way of Worcester's branch libraries?
11. Where do you stand on gaming and casinos in Worcester?