Looks like it was wise not to have wasted my time on this.

It is truly outrageous that Comcast did not broadcast this debate. On government channel 50 it broadcast an uncontroversial meeting of the Planning Commission.
On channel 49, the public access channel, it carried a church service.. Comcast evidently has no intention of carrying any of the Council debates either. Another great example of Comcast service!

I just don't see how one can vote for MacDonald when he quit his City Council post in the middle of his terms. It also doesn't help his case that the city has been very well run during Mayor Euille's tenure.

What does this mean:
Macdonald said while the city currently funds the school system, “we need to come up with a more shared revenue stream.” ?

The city needs new leadership. The current mayor has been in office so long that he believes he's omnipotent. Not once did he admit in his too-long tenure that he erred, or that a single one of his many critics made justifiable observations. Time for change. Nine years is enough.

I attended the debate and for the most part felt the sponsers and attendee questions covered what needed to be covered. I am a supporter of Mayor Euille as I feel he has done a good job. I was expecting to hear more from Mr. MacDonald than what he has said in the media up to the debate, which has been: we need more public input, we could have gotten more out of the developers, and the solution to every issue is to be creative. Mr. MacDonald feels that retaining and expanding on the unique historical identity of Alexandria will in turn create the needed revenues required to maintain Alexandria's residents needs. As it showed in the group cofounded by Mr. McDonald, the CAAWP response to the City's Waterfront Plan, what numbers were there simply did not add up, or at best were fanciful. It is management based upon hope. Sorry, I need more than that to put my faith in candidates.
Mr. MacDonald, Mr. Wood and Mr. Fannon, Alexandria is much more than Old Town. It seems pretty clear that your vision of Alexandria stops at the borders of Old Town.

I wanted someone to ask MacDonald why he quit and how can we be sure he won't just up and quit again.

I had no part in selecting the questions which were asked on Tuesday night. However, I do know that when the some version of a question is submitted several times, the panel choosing the questions, will see that that one is asked. That leads me to believe that the attendees just were not interested in Mr. Macdonald's past.

McBrinn, it might surprise you to learn that Andrew and I are actually on friendly terms. He's running for public office - that makes him fair game for criticism - but I will give him credit for not taking it personally. He and I spoke just before the debate as we were both putting up signs and lugging stuff into the venue. He knows I want answers and so do a lot of other people. Actually, I know the answer, and so do a lot of other people. We just want him to come clean. His comment to The Washington Examiner about needing "me time" as the reason he quit is far closer to the truth than the line about caring for his elderly mother. Fact his, he quit as vice mayor during his term and not only cost the city money for a special election, but also disappointed his supporters. He owes those people full honesty. He also quit the Alexandria Democratic Committee. He seems to quit things when he doesn't get his way. It strikes me as childish.

I also thought it was funny that he wore sneakers with a business suit at the debate. Not a big deal, but certainly eccentric. He's an eccentric guy. I'm sure he's a blast at parties, but I don't want an odd dilletante as mayor.

Katy, I spoke with a reporter at the debate and asked why the press wasn't writing about Andrew's conflicting stories. The reporter told me that they have in fact looked into it, but that all of the people closest to Andrew gave conflicting stories! They haven't written about it because they don't know what is true!

This discussion of Andrew Macdonald' s supposed motives and supposedly eccentric habits is far afield of any issue that voters care about. I would point out that unlike Mayor Euille, Mr. Macdonald is an only child. Without knowing any other members of the Mayor's family, I am sure they all participated in caring for their mother and grandmother during the last years of her life. I have know Andrew for a number of years, I certainly never asked him any questions about his resignation. It has always been my assumption in dealing with everyone I know, that people share with me what they want to share. I try to listen sympathetically when friends share person concerns, but I never ask them to do so.

Katy, MacDonald was not our "friend," he was our Vice Mayor. He owes voters a full explanation of why he suddenly quit. In the alternative, if he pays back the city the cost of the special election to replace him, I'll never mention it again.

Actually McBrinn, it seems you're stalking me. I'm not running for office. Why are you so obsessed with my posts?

We were all at Art on the Avenue yesterday. Candidates and committees are restricted to an area called "The Political Soapbox" and Andrew's spot was right next to ours. He gave me a hug and we chatted and speculated about McBrinn. Andrew thought it might be Scott Gordon, but I seriously doubt that. I saw Scott later and he bought the most hilarious piece of art I have ever seen.

Andrew and I mostly talked about our kids, who are the same age and in the same year of college, and I will not reveal the specifics of that coversation but will say that I do respect Andrew as a parent. He and I have this in common - a deep and abiding love for our children and an absolute unwillingness to tolerate any form of bullying against them. I will also state for the record the opposing candidate Bob Wood was very helpful to me and my husband in setting up our tent. One of the poles was stuck and Bob used the wicket from a campaign sign to fix the problem. All of the various campaigns and candidates were respectful and friendly expect for one Republican volunteer who made very rude remarks not only to the Dem team, but also to random passersby. Several people commented on it to me and one couple, who were musicians performing on the stage behind us and consider themselves independents, were so offended that they came to our booth to get Dem pins and stickers to wear onstage. Two R volunteers and I had a dance off at the end - I won.

Gail: You demonstrate that Republicans and Democrats CAN work well together. It shows that a more balanced City Council would be a great opportunity for the city of Alexandria. Deb Antonini-Cefaratti

Deb, we can all have a good time together in the spirit of a community event.

Gail: And there's no reason why that spirit of working together at a community event can't be extended to the city council table.

Andrew Macdonald
9:02 am on Tuesday, October 23, 2012
I have posted all the debates on my You Tube channel which you can find on my web site. I have not edited anything or tried to highlight portions that are favorable or unfavorable to either of the two mayoral candidates. They there to be viewed by anyone interested in this election and debate.
Andrew Macdonald
Andrewmacdonaldformayor.com