Public Gets Chance to Quiz Mayoral Candidates at Upcoming Forum

In the past year alone, Port Chester has dealt with crumbling sewers, a , , and the first go-around with an almost - .

Unlike last June's experiment with during the , voters won't get to cast when they choose a new mayor on March 15, but they will have their voices heard. (Note to Fox News: Although it makes for a less , everyone gets the same number of votes in both mayoral and trustee elections.)

On March 2, the League of Women Voters of Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester will host a forum for the mayoral candidates at Port Chester High School. Incumbent Mayor Dennis Pilla and Trustee Bart Didden, the challenger, will take questions from voters and weigh in on the most important issues facing the village.

The League of Women voters takes its non-partisan stance seriously, and everything about the forum is designed to make things fair to both candidates–right on down to a coin toss to determine which candidate makes their opening remarks first.

Following opening statements, candidates will field "League-posed questions," said Debbie Reisner, president of the Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester chapter. Members compile those questions based on feedback from both candidates, and conversations with a cross-section of people in the community. The responses are distilled into a list of the most pressing local issues.

"And then a group from the League of Women Voters will sit down on a designated day," Reisner said, "throw all the questions on the table and say, 'Okay, what have we got?' "

The candidates present "significant differences" in the way they'd tackle local issues over the next two years, Reisner said, a fact underscored by increasingly frequent disagreements between Didden and Pilla during board meetings.

Although Didden was not an official mayoral candidate until the Republican caucus in January,  he became the mayor's most vocal opponent on policy issues in recent months after a summer and fall where his fellow trustee, Sam Terenzi, led most of the opposition to the mayor and the board's Democrat minority.

Pilla, who is looking to serve another two-year term, secured the nomination from local Democrats in January. Didden, who won a seat as a trustee last year after running as an independent, earned the Republican nomination and fell one vote short of the Conservative Party's nomination. Former mayor and current Trustee John Branca, who edged Didden in the Conservative vote, has since dropped out of the race.

Framed as a discussion rather than a debate, the forum promises direct interaction between the people of Port Chester and the two candidates for mayor.

"I am willing to answer all questions that are of concern to our residents and are within my ability to do something about as the mayor or a trustee," Didden said.

Organizers are hoping for a large public turn-out. Although some residents have said they felt their vote doesn't count, Reisner pointed to 2009's Board of Education election. In that race, board member Blanca Lopez edged running mate Carolee Brakewood by four votes. Brakewood ran again and won, and now serves on that board.

In Port Chester, "elections are determined by a shockingly small number of votes," Reisner said. "So in an election like this, every vote really counts."

The forum is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on March 2, in the auditorium of , 1 Tamarack Rd., Rye Brook. The forum is open to the public, and streaming video will be available on demand at http://www.lwvrrbpc.org after the forum. Residents can also catch video of the debate on Port Chester Public Access Television, with air dates to be announced.

Call 914-698-7166 or e-mail LWV.Rye.RyeBrook.PortChester@gmail.com for more information.