The First Post-Primary Debate

The candidates have been set in the race for County Executive with Bill Magnarelli running for the Democrats and Joanie Mahoney running for the Republicans. But the stage at the Palace Theater is still going to be a little crowded tonight at the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors' debate, both Ed Ryan and Dale Sweetland have accepted invitations to attend. It is the first debate since the primaries and Jeff Pinard, Chairman of the Legislative Committee at the Greater Syracuse Association of Realtors says that the timing of the debate, it being so close to the ending of the primary, will make it interesting. Besides being the first real chance for the candidates to lay out their positions on issues, there is the added element of finding out if Dale Sweetland will continue to campaign as the candidate for the Conservative and Independence parties.
The questions for the debate are being put to together by a panel of journalists and the bulk of them will focus on economic development. They'll be "all the topics that are important to everyone" says Pinard, "tax rate, economic growth, their opinions on regionalization, and shared services." The debate will begin at 6 p.m. at the Palace Theater.