In the most bizarre twist yet to the election season, the three City Council candidates were reduced to bit players, mere scenery, at the latest Candidates Forum on Tuesday night.
Instead of spotlighting their messages and the distinctions in their views, they were ordered — yes, ordered — to play a game, Beat the Clock.
Their responses to questions were strictly secondary to rush-rushing to beat an old alarm clock that must have been rented from a 99-Cent Store. The clock, which may not have had hands, was slightly less reliable than a drunken octopus getting his nails done.
By the careful observation of a neutral party, the time was kept wildly unevenly. “Thirty seconds to go” often meant the speaker had fifteen to eighteen seconds. The thirty-second sign was displayed almost recklessly during responses, at the forty, fifty and fifty-five-second marks and in between. No one was treated more favorably than anyone else. All participants were victimized.