How Important is PR to the Candidates

I am a little surprised at some of the candidates who do not take advantage promoting themselves on Forum's.

I would of thought that any chance to push their cause, would be good to be seen on any forum.

Some it seems cannot handle the "Public" questioning, or in words of one candidate have not got the time for such things

Well if they have not got the time now, how the hell are they going to find time when they are elected?

So very true GD.some seem to think they are above the working class people of this island.Some i believe think that nobody is going to vote against the staus quo.I admire the candidates who have taken the time to come on to these forums and answered questions put to them.

I think forums are a brilliant tool for potential politicians to communicate with the public Which is much needed IMO , after the last house it is vital for the candidates to keep the general public in the picture now and if they get in. There are some that actively take part in discussions and do answer questions which i admire.

If my memory serves me correctly a while back the Chief Minister said he would not encourage any member on the States to participate in any forums or talk to the media.

What sort of attitude is that ? I really hope the next house dont take this approach.

I believe they have a better chance of getting elected if they participate in the forums
As it shows they are in touch with the real world
Those who do not think it is a good idea now little about Internet and how it can help

I had comment passed on to me today, The Candidate said "I can only handle one forum". Well all I can say is,Don't bother to get elected if you can only handle one thing at a time!

I must confess to being slightly reticent with using internet forums for discussing election issues. The reason being, I am a manager on a large international forum and have seen a number of major falling outs over minor issues. Luckily I'm a fairly laid back guy in some senses and tend to assume sometimes that people don't mean what they have actually written, 9 out of 10 cases this is true. One can watch a thread deteriorate from a simple rebuttal to all out war very rapidly, luckily we have a number of good moderators who step in fairly quickly. That is the only reason for my reticence.
I think, with the right amount of allowance for misunderstandings, this is an excellent medium for conversing. Don't forget, it is a two way flow, I as a candidate, want to hear what everyone else has to say ( and if elected would value the two way flow even more). I have strong ideas, but will also listen to a good arguement and will admit it if I have got things wrong.
Cheers,
Paul D

I can see where you are coming from Paul we will not allow personal attacks on any member of this forum and would step in if things are looking like they are getting out of hand. I am pleased that if you get elected you "would value the two way flow" that's good to here.

Good luck Paul.