It’s early in the game, so to speak, with several months ahead of us before election day. Nevertheless, online discussions about Simi Valley’s most important issue are in full gear. You would think that candidates for City Council would be eager to keep in front of the issues and participate in these discussions, but you’d be surprised how quiet it gets when you propose a live, real-time discussion on the issues with Simi Valley voters as the audience. What does that mean? Why so quiet?
In sharp contrast, the incumbents, Councilwoman Michelle Foster and Councilman Glen Becerra each responded to the invitation to an online live discussion in the affirmative, literally hours upon receiving it, answering “I’d love to participate,” and “Count me in!” respectively. If you take a look at some of the remarks made by the challengers and directed at either the incumbents or the entire sitting council, you might think Becerra and Foster might hesitate about putting themselves out there. In some of the comments made by challengers, Becerra and Foster are taking shots square on the chin. Nevertheless, they eagerly agreed to address city issues for interested voters.
Candidate Mitch Green, an outspoken candidate from the very beginning, isn’t so quiet and agreed to participate. When challenged online by an anoymous poster, Mitch Green fired back and stood his ground, a move most people wouldn’t be expected to do in response to an anonymous post. Currently, my live “Challenger Chat” will have only Mr. Green as a participant, but something tells me it will be an engaging chat and I won’t have to be worried about uncomfortable silences.
I’ll put it out there one more time before I coordinate with Mitch Green exclusively for a live, real-time streamed discussion on the internet. If you’re a challenging Candidate for Simi Valley City Council, contact me to get in on the live discussion. We’ll cover the issues that mean the most to you and to Simi Valley. We’ll coordinate a date and set a time in the evening after work and before primetime television to ensure a captive audience.