Whenever we have candidates for elected positions at a club meeting there is sure to be enough action to keep everyone awake. Hearing from the candidates for the 32nd Congressional District was no exception but with some additional wrinkles.
The incumbent Colin Allred appeared on tape while his opponent Genevieve Collins was live on Zoom. Ms. Collins endured an appendectomy with complications a short time ago which precluded an in person appearance. Kudos goes to Hillary and others who scrambled to make things come off quite smoothly.
The format consisted of selected questions previously submitted by club members with Dana DeVance presiding as moderator. Although credit is due to the candidates for their decorum your write wishes that moderators on the national stage could moderate with the same amount of poise and fairness as Dana. An added feature were sidebars from the audience which thankfully appeared only as chat messages.
Allred lamented the fact that all citizens could not vote by mail while Ms. Collins approved the Texas Supreme Court's limiting its use to persons named in the statute. They disagreed on the mechanism for reducing prescription drug prices but agreed that individuals should not be penalized for insurance costs due to pre-existing health conditions. This protection is currently provided in the Affordable Care Act-the constitutionality of which is currently before the US Supreme Court. Both agreed that police department reforms were needed to protect citizens and the reputations of honorable officers from actions of bad cops. On most other topics they disagreed consistent with the views expressed by their respective political parties.