Rye Mayoral Debate Transcripts from Matt Fahey

Former Rye City Councilman Matt Fahey shared the transcripts of the two recent Rye Mayoral debates, along with his endorsement of Peter Jovanovich.

Rye Mayoral debate – Osborn Home – download

Rye Mayoral debate – Rye Middle School – download

Fahey's note and endorsement:

"Friends and neighbors:

Please share this with your neighbors and friends, as appropriate…

In case you hadn’t noticed all the obnoxious lawn signs, or gotten any robo-calls, or haven’t checked your mail in the past week or so, I thought you might like to know there’s an election this TUESDAY, November 4th.  Several of you have asked who I’m voting for. I am hoping that all of you will 1) get educated on who the candidates are and what their platforms are, 2) reflect on what the community needs now, and which candidate is best qualified to deliver it, and 3) VOTE, on Tuesday, November 5th.

Sadly, this won’t happen. Statistically speaking, over half of you won’t vote. If you’re one who doesn’t vote, I urge you to re-consider – your participation is important, and its needed! If you are planning to vote, but haven’t had time to study the candidates, I’m enclosing the transcripts of two recent mayoral debates, one held at the Osborn Home on October 21st, the other held in the Rye Middle School on October 30th. Both were conducted by the League of Women Voters, which did an excellent job in conducting the sessions. Note that the second debate doesn’t include all the questions – Transcribing these debates is a bit of an effort, and I simply ran out of time! The words as written are the exact words the candidates used, as I heard them, except for the three words in brackets. PJ is Peter Jovanovich, JS is Joe Sack, and NS is Nancy Silberkleit.

I believe Peter Jovanovich handily won both debates. It’s worth noting that his opponent, Joe Sack, is claiming he’s a big fan of truth – yet Peter caught him, and called him out, on two lies he told the audiences. He also had a much greater command of the facts than Joe did.

I am voting for Peter, because

• he’s the more seasoned individual,
• he’s not beholden to any party bosses or special interests,
• he’s willing to listen to other points of view and do the necessary research to discover the facts BEFORE making a decision,
• he has the time to do it (he’s retired and does not have school-age kids), and most importantly,
• he will be able to build a consensus on the council (which, no matter who wins, will have the least council experience in memory).

Remember – you have a greater influence in any local election, and local elections have a greater impact on your life than any presidential election.

See you at the polls on Tuesday!