Archive: News

Incumbent Ed LaVigne (R)	Challenger Michael Koplinka-Loehr (D)
Click on the graphic above to read each candidate's interview.

For years I have interviewed candidates in contested local elections in what became my "ten questions" interviews.  I have long felt that was too many questions.  But I never was able to pare them down.  This year I was determined to be more succinct, so I set a goal of asking the candidates five questions.  I almost made it -- I came up with six that I think are essential to deciding on who to vote for in this year's Town Supervisor and Town Board elections.

Here's how it works.  All candidates for the same office are asked the same questions (so six questions for the two Supervisor candidates, and another six for the four Town Board candidates).  No candidate is alerted beforehand on what the questions are, and none are told what other candidates have answered.  So the questions are the same but the answers are different, allowing you to decide which candidate's answers best align with you.  The transcripts are almost verbatim -- there are a few grammatical corrections, or consolidation of redundancies, but if you could hear the interviews while reading the transcripts you would be satisfied that the candidates actually said what has been transcribed.

My hope is that these comparative interviews are a good tool for you as you decide who to vote for.  It is intended to highlight the candidates in their own words.  The Lansing Star does not and never has endorsed candidates because we feel you should be able to make your own decisions based on what you learn about the individual candidates.

In today's issue we are featuring the interviews of the two Town Supervisor Candidates.  Next week we will have the Town Board candidate interviews, while continuing to make this week's interviews easily available through election day.  Click on the photos above to read each candidate's responses.
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