It was Adjunct Professor of Psychology Tony Brown who was answering questions instead of his students Oct. 14 in Mabee Hall.
He was one of seven local political candidates at the forum hosted by Associate Professor of Political Science Bruce Anderson’s Campaigns and Elections and American Politics classes
“It was a very comfortable setting for me,” Brown said. “Being in Mabee 100, where I taught for such a long time, it was home field advantage. Let’s face it.
Brown, who is running for the Kansas House of Representatives District 10, was joined by his opponent John Coen, R-Baldwin City. State Senate candidates present were Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City; Roger Pine, R-Linwood; and Patrick Wilbur, a Libertarian from Lawrence. 2nd District Douglas County commission candidates were Republican David L. Brown and Democrat Nancy Thellman
Sophomore Dani Weimholt took on a large portion of the work for the forum and was pleased with the outcome, estimating event attendance to be about 100 people.
“I still think there could have been more things we could have done to get ready, and I think that will come in time, having set the stage for future forums at Baker,” Weimholt said
The forum was meant to help constituents find out about candidates’ views on issues, not be a debate, Weimholt said, which is something that may be changed next time
“The format of a debate is intriguing, and we’ve kind of lost that,” she said. “But I thought it went well, and we may not change it.
After an opening introduction, the candidates were asked several questions and given one minute to answer. Topics included increasing tuition costs and the education system, the Baldwin City school district bond issue, the economy, gay marriage and health care.
Time was reserved at the end of the forum to give audience members a chance to question the candidates. Senior Luke Bowerman posed the last question, stating he was afraid for himself, his family, friends and the state, and he wanted to know how the candidates could assuage his fear.
Bowerman said he thought Thellman did the best job answering his question
“She did really well concerning my questions because she said ‘Don’t be so upset about the economic condition, focus locally and on planning so we know what we’re up against,'” Bowerman said.
Thellman said she would work strongly on planning so Bowerman and his classmates would have jobs
Pine did not impress Bowerman as much. He believes Pine is too old to handle society today
“He seemed very traditional,” Bowerman said. “Traditional is not bad, but you have to have an open mind. It’s not just about crops in Kansas anymore. It’s about equal rights and homosexuals and people who are not in the agricultural business.”