New Fairfield’s Face to Face Candidates Debate will take place Wednesday, October 23 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm at the New Fairfield Community Center (NF Senior Center) located at 33 CT-37 in New Fairfield. The debate will feature First Selectman candidates, incumbent Pat Del Monaco and challenger John Hodge, along with Selectman candidates, Khris Hall and Kim Hanson. Doors will open at 6pm.

John Goetz will return to moderate this year’s debate, which will begin with opening statements from all First Selectman and Selectman candidates. Opening statements will be followed by questions to all candidates from a Town Tribune panel consisting of reporters Greg Slomba, Sarah Opdahl, and Anne-Marie DiDomenico. The candidates will have two minutes to respond to each question, followed by a one-minute rebuttal.

After a break, the debate will contin
ue with questions from the audience. Questions may be directed to either First Selectman candidates only, Selectman candidates only, or the full panel.

When asking questions, audience members will stand at the podium and state their name and question. No give and take discussion with candidates will be allowed. Audience questions must be simply stated, or risk being disqualified at the discretion of the moderator. All questions will be reviewed for clarity and content by the Town Tribune publishers, prior to being read aloud.

At the close o
f the debate, candidates from all parties will be invited to come to the podium and state their name and the position for which they are running. First Selectman and Selectman Candidates will be provided 2 minutes each for a closing statement. The entire debate is scheduled to run approximately two hours.

The debates will be broadcast and re-broadcast regularly through Election Day on Channel 194 for Charter and Channel 199 for Frontier beginning on Fri., Oct. 25th. The debate footage will also be made available on the Town Tribune facebook page and on the town website, www.newfairfield.org. Paul Gouveia will oversee the broadcasting of the event.

You must be registered to vote in the November 5 election. Registration is available in person during regular Town Hall hours in the Registrar of Voters office or in the Town Clerk’s office if the Registrars are not available. A mail in registration form is available on the Town website under the Registrars of Voters department, here.