MITUL RAO
Chicago: Community Connect, an initiative of Desi Junction Media, held its first ever Mayoral Candidates Debate and Town Hall at the Embassy Suites in Schaumburg March 17. The Community Connect initiativeis to help members of the community at large to make a diligent choice in the election of officials at federal, state and local levels.
The Schaumberg event was opened to the public March 17 evening where the three prospective mayoral candidates – Matthew Steward, Nafees Rahman, and Tom Dailly – had the opportunity to meet and greet the locals and hear their voices. Trustee candidates Dhitu Bhagwakar, Brian Bieschke, George Dunham, Scott Felgenhauer, and Rocco Terranova also attended the event.
The Debate segment was fully structured, and meticulously formatted. Not only did this debate have the three active candidates but also two solid panels (citizen panel and media panel) and a debate moderator.
The Citizens panel consisted of various local residents from all walks of life. Debate moderator, Jassi Parmar, asked a number of questions relating to major concerns expressed by Schaumburg residents
The debate kept the citizens extremely engaged and they were able to speak their minds via written questions where the candidates, trustees and members of the audience could engage in a healthy discussion. There were a flood of questions from the audience and voters felt like they got a chance to learn more about local issues and each candidate’s views which would help them make an informed decision on voting day.
Some of the hot topics of discussion included, eliminating and reducing taxes, construction of a performing arts center, parking facility near the convention center, banning or allowing video gaming, cultural diversity in the village offices, Schaumburg’s debt, and making Schaumburg a better place to live and work in. Strategic financial planning was also discussed.
The very concept to know who one should vote for and make his or her own local office president so that their issues can be addressed was well received by the guests present and all the mayoral and trustee candidates.
Among the volunteers were Amit Seth, Ankit Parmar, Bhairavi Tanna Thakkar, Charandeep Singh, Dharam Botadra, Gurpreet Singh, Jasmeet Singh, Jassi Parmar, Keerti Thakkar, Maddy Singh, Pratik Shah, Priyanka Mathur, Preeti Mathur, Ravi Rawat, D.J. Sanjay, Trupti Patel and Vinita Gulabani.
The event decor was provided by Dream Occasions, a local vendor while Bombay Bowl served hot appetizers and beverages.
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