BBA Holds Mayoral Debate

Mayoral candidates Miro Weinberger and Kurt Wright kicked off the campaign season at the 10^th Annual BBA Business Summit at Champlain College on January 5, 2012.Nearly 200 people registered for the event which featured the first debate between the two candidates and a networking breakfast, which the candidates also attended.

During the debate, Wright and Weinberger faced questions related to economic development, sustainability and vitality in Burlington as the city moves forward. They sat on stools at the front of the stadium seated auditorium and took questions from all sides. On their right, Debate Moderator Dan Dubonnet, of Hall Communications, asked the candidates questions that were submitted before and during the event by BBA members and the audience. On their left, Nicole Ravlin of Burlington Social Media Breakfast, who partnered with the BBA to hold the event, posed questions to the candidates from a live twitter feed. Questions were also directed at them from audience members. The combination of question sources helped the debate stand out. 

"I loved the format of the event," David Gibson, of Propeller Media Works, said about the debate. "It was great to hear answers to questions that were streaming in with real-time relevancy."

In addition to those in attendance and following via social media, over 300 people logged onto the Burlington Free Press website to watch a live stream of the debate. Watch the Video. The Burlington Free Press estimates that over the next few weeks nearly 2,000 people will access the video of the debate on-line. The Charlie, Ernie and Lisa show also broadcast the event live on WVMT 620 AM Radio to listeners.

“The event went really well. The candidates and the audience were engaged and some important issues for the Burlington business community were raised,” said BBA Executive Director Kelly Devine. The plan now, she says, is to keep businesses and their issues involved through the rest of the race. “We give businesses a chance to have their voice heard. That’s part of our mission and we will continue to do that well through Election Day and into the next administration.”

(Photo courtesy of Stephen Mease, Champlain College)