We sat and we talked.....

The forum last night was interesting. I like to think I held my own despite not being a politician of any merit and I also like to think I didn't make a fool of myself.

My wife, who, after 29 years of marriage, is capable of speaking truthfully to me at all times, told me that she felt I did a pretty good job so I figure I got that going for me.

My observations about the other candidates are as follows: Man, you people love the sound of your own voice!

It was fun and I'd do it again if asked but it's not the most comfortable position to be in. Some members of the audience are highly informed and they have a laser focus on the particular issue that they want to discuss. If you try to BS them with some fluffy non-answer, they get frustrated and you know you've lost them.

I was approached by several folks afterwards and they all said things like, "I like your honesty" and "It's nice to hear from a straight shooter" and my favorite, "You are concise. I like that".

After 28 years in a job that requires me to give accurate and honest answers, I guess I've gotten pretty good at it.

It is possible I might have caught a more than a few people off guard when someone asked the question, "What do you think about changing the tax rate for businesses?"

Each of my opponents said that they favored leaving the business tax rate at the same level as the residential tax rate. One even went so far as to say that we should look at raising the rate if it might be helpful.

Then they handed the microphone to me.

I took a deep breath, look the audience in their collective eye and said, "I actually favor lowering the business tax rate. Business use fewer town resources, they put less strain on the town resources they do use and it might be an incentive for a new business to come into town, take over one of those dilapidated eyesores and replace it with something far more attractive. That increases the tax base and might actually result in more revenue for the town."

That raised a few eyebrows.

And that is how I like it.

I like being the guy that makes people stop and think for a second.

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