All, add your comments below about what you thought of Thursday night's debate, brought to you by the Jackson Progressive, Jackson 2000, Leadership Jackson Alumni, WAPT and the Jackson Free Press. What were the best lines? Worst? Who scored the best points? Did you decide who to vote for?

From Thursday:

OK, y'all, a few links for you. Note that you should open this first one only once...it's the JFP "BETA" Debate Viewer (I just built it in about 20 seconds). It will allow you to view the debate live while checking out this open thread.

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/debate/

Or, pop the debate open in the WAPT Browser and then use this page for your comments. You can also see the debate feed will "pop out" (this may only work on Macs) using this link: click here.

Previous Comments

ID

146228

Comment

Ping, just testing. The stream should be up from WAPT at 6:30pm.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2009-04-23T17:22:40-06:00

ID

146229

Comment

OK, that's probably the "final" on the debate interface. Let me know if anyone is having any trouble.

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2009-04-23T18:04:27-06:00

ID

146230

Comment

Looks like it doesn't work great in Internet Explorer; sorry about that. Firefox rocks. ;-)

Author

Todd Stauffer

Date

2009-04-23T18:13:27-06:00

ID

146233

Comment

Well, that was fun :P

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2009-04-23T19:30:13-06:00

ID

146237

Comment

An interesting, and at times entertaining, debate. Although I think half of these folks have no business running, its good to see a competitive race for Jxn mayor.

Author

Jeff Lucas

Date

2009-04-23T20:07:11-06:00

ID

146247

Comment

Is there a link to the video of the debate? I missed it last night.

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-04-24T07:35:29-06:00

ID

146248

Comment

Harvey Johnson sure did deliver that "no second-chance God line" well back to Crisler, huh? "The God we serve is not a second-chance God. He's an any-chance God" And Horhn's chair trick to talk "to" Melton about being a no-show then and for the last four years was good. What others? Still waking up here and remembering stuff.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-04-24T07:43:37-06:00

ID

146249

Comment

And seriously, how did the debate affect your vote? I heard several people afterward say that some of the candidates surprised them. How?

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-04-24T07:44:14-06:00

ID

146250

Comment

WMartin, I hope WAPT puts the video up today so as many people as possible can see it.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-04-24T07:44:49-06:00

ID

146251

Comment

Robert Johnson was the calm, collected one of the group. He had good ideas and a good amount of law enforcement experience. John Horhn has the political background involving economic development and federal/state funding, and he seems like a guy who can get things done. Harvey Johnson has a great presence and had some good success in his last terms, but I feel he was not so quick to get these successes implemented. Marshand Crisler has good intentions with law enforcement and city council experience, but he is a bit of a hot head and I'm not so sure how well that would suit the position of mayor in our current city government, where the mayor has a majority rule. Debra Scott was ok, but she seemed to be focused on crime and crime alone. Crime prevention needs attention, but there is more to running a city than just that. I personally do not feel that Eddie Fair has the experience to be a successful mayor, and I find it hard to trust him. As for Dorothy Benford and Jabari Toins, I don't feel that either of them are suited for city government. They may have good intentions, but I have no faith that either of them could be effective as mayor. As for Frank's empty bus stunt, I find it hilarious that he even has any supporters left. Are they seriously ok with him wasting their tax dollars like that? I think Frank realizes that he has little to no chance of winning this year, so he's trying to go out with a bang (and we all know he is quite capable of doing that). After last night, I'm leaning towards Robert Johnson and John Horhn.

Author

chip

Date

2009-04-24T08:08:08-06:00

ID

146252

Comment

Agreeing with Chip. Would like to see more out of Scott than just crime. While a major issue for Jackson, it is not the only issue. It would be good to get a fresh face in Jackson politics in office. She needs to expand. I think Johnson did the best with his responses, confident but not too arogant. Alot of the good going on in Jackson now was ground work he laid out. Horhn was interesting and impressed me.

Author

navy ray

Date

2009-04-24T08:32:03-06:00

ID

146253

Comment

I mostly agree with Chip. I was really disappointed with Crisler. He seemed totally arrogant and unprofessional. He may have even lost his own ward last night! (If they were watching...) I think Horhn and Harvey Johnson were the best. Robert Johnson was better than I expected, but he still wasn't all that memorable to me. I think Horhn will gain from Crisler's mistakes.

Author

News Junkie

Date

2009-04-24T08:40:17-06:00

ID

146254

Comment

Watch the Jackson mayoral debate here: http://www.wapt.com/video/19266198/index.html

Author

chip

Date

2009-04-24T08:47:13-06:00

ID

146255

Comment

Why is Round 4 missing? That was the best round!

Author

News Junkie

Date

2009-04-24T09:03:33-06:00

ID

146256

Comment

Thanks Chip!

Author

WMartin

Date

2009-04-24T09:25:58-06:00

ID

146257

Comment

Wait, wait, wait...Navy Ray.....I think you have the Johnson's mixed up, that was Harvey Johnson that laid ground work for Jackson development not Robert! Please don't get the two confused, HARVEY JOHNSON, great debate last night, I am glad to see that truth finally showing to the masses! Maybe Harvey should consider being a minister.

Author

freemagnolia

Date

2009-04-24T09:36:47-06:00

ID

146260

Comment

Thanks!! I do need to keep track of the different Johnson's. I don't want to mix up their plans/stands etc. Appreciate that!

Author

navy ray

Date

2009-04-24T09:47:22-06:00

ID

146261

Comment

I don't want to see a runoff with the Sophie's Choice of Harvey Johnson and Frank Melton. With the way the polls are showing, is a vote for John Horhn wasted? I would like to vote for him, but fear that voting for Crisler might be the only way to avoid that horrible runoff situation.

Author

QB

Date

2009-04-24T09:49:01-06:00

ID

146262

Comment

Fat Harry- I had basically counted Horhn out until last night. Now I think he could actually be in the game. We'll have to see just how bad last night will hurt Crisler. There seems to be a strong dislike for Harvey Johnson amongst Crisler supporters (which I still don't really understand- I've heard the reasons, but I still don't really get it.), so if any of them are going to jump ship, they'll probably jump to Horhn. The big question is whether they will jump ship at all! Maybe they already knew about Crisler and his performance last night. I was unaware, so it's a shock to me. It may not be a shock to everyone.

Author

News Junkie

Date

2009-04-24T09:58:06-06:00

ID

146264

Comment

News Junkie, be a bit more specific about what you mean about Crisler's performance. In a serious way. We're really interested in what people think. Fat Harry, I think you're misusing the phrase "Sophie's Choice." The point in the film is that the Streep character could not "choose" both and wanted to. Also, it's really disingenuous to equate H. Johnson with Melton at this point. If you dislike both, fine, but saying they are the same doesn't make a lick of sense after the last four years.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2009-04-24T10:05:17-06:00

ID

146267

Comment

Donna- I'll try to be more specific. I think that Crisler started off very professional. It may have been fluffy and pre-prepared, but it was better than the others. Everyone else started off pretty slow. However, during round 4, I was really shocked with Crisler. He seemed very out of touch with what's really happening in his ward. He came across as arrogant and even fictional. When Brenda Scott said "Without the arrogance," I was totally in agreement (although I don't think she should be mayor). The "Thank you very much" was definitely a bit much. It was almost like his whole demeanor changed. In my opinion, there were 2 Crislers last night- a prepared one and an impromptu one. I left wondering which one would be mayor if he was elected. Again- I think Harvey and Horhn were the best, but I don't know how much the debate will affect the race. Melton is definitely still one to watch, and we'll have to see how Crisler supporters feel today.

Author

News Junkie

Date

2009-04-24T10:32:15-06:00

ID

146269

Comment

WEB POLL: After Thursday night's debate, if this were American Idol, which candidate would you vote off the show? http://bit.ly/KsU1F

Author

chip

Date

2009-04-24T11:18:53-06:00

ID

146280

Comment

Robert Johnson impressed the heck out of me he has the vision and already to implement his plan. A new man with a new plan and he's ready to go. That's it Robert Johnson is the only real choice!!!

Author

Tony Davis

Date

2009-04-24T18:58:02-06:00

ID

146286

Comment

Well, I posted under the other article but actual thoughts on the Debate are: 1. The format was very good. Even allowed a Candidate to choose a question for themselves they would like to answer. 2. Scott Simons was excellent. Kept an even keel and tempo and used the evil-eye to quell infractions in the audience. 3. The black background is not a good choice behind humans. It just does not allow them their best light. Even in lighter colors, like Toins, they still do not photograph well. 4. I would have preferred a more traditional Sunday afternoon when the broadcast could have been more readily available to all citizens regardless of tech-savyness or converter boxes or whatever. 5. Horhn, I do not believe, is able to win this race. Horhn could by some stretch overtake Melton, but it is doubtful. Robert Johnson, Fair, Benford, Scott, and Toins will take away minimal amounts. 6. This is still a three man race and anything could happen. The worst case senario, IMHO, for the City is a Melton/H.Johnson rematch. Big question left unanswered in the Debate: Then who would the police chief be? Who would remain in the JPD Command Staff with either of these? Someone should be looking at this angle. 7. So, the Debate and the Polls indicate that a serious voter should look at the three frontrunners and choose. Base your choice on what is best for JPD, for the Schools, for the growth of the City, and for the satisfaction level of the Citizens. Is a status quo preferrable to a brave new future?

Author

Razor

Date

2009-04-25T05:30:02-06:00