By SUZANNE MARINO
Staff Writer
MARGATE – By 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 27 the Margate Performing Arts Center was a beehive of activity, and the buzz was the nine candidates running for the three open seats on the Margate City Commission.
Nearly 200 people filled the hall to listen to what the candidates had to say. The crowd was a mix of each candidate’s camps along with those who came to get a starting point on each candidate as the campaign trail heats up in the six weeks leading to the May 8 election.
Several people quietly said they were disappointed with the turnout; four years ago nearly 400 came out for a similar event.
Sponsored by the Tighe School PTO, the Margate Meet the Candidates Night was not a debate. The candidates did not take questions from the audience, nor did they engage one another. Tuesday night the spotlight belonged to the nine candidates, each of whom had five minutes to sell the crowd. Those in the audience listened, some took notes, and more than a few created a score card of sorts, rating the candidates 1-5 on issues as well as delivery of their message.
The order of speakers was chosen by lottery. Dan Campbell was the first speaker, followed by Carl Smallwood, Scott Abbott, Ed McMeekin, Burt Federman, Maury Blumberg, Mike Becker, Joanne Kulzer and John Swift.
Among the candidates are engineers, financial analysts, private businessmen, educators, attorneys, parents, even a few retirees. A few claimed expertise in preparing and following a budget, while another knows planning and zoning. Each of the nine offered the crowd personal and background information and relayed what brought them to Margate or made them decide to stay and raise their families here.
The forum took exactly one hour from start to finish, and then the audience and the candidates headed into the gymnasium for refreshments. Here members of the audience could mingle with the candidates and ask questions informally. All those running participated in this portion except Dan Campbell, who left to attend a meeting with the Atlantic City School District Board of Education as the Margate representative.
At the forum, all nine candidates kept their message strictly positive. Plans for a debate among the candidates are in the works.
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