Click the play button to watch the debate in its entirety.
The candidates take the stage at the 3‑minute mark of the video.
About 200 people attended, according to school district officials. The debate lasted 90 minutes.
Who won? Take our poll at the end of the story to weigh-in.
The debate was sponsored by Derby Public Schools and The Valley Indy.
The debate was streamed live online thanks to Kosta Myzithras, the school district’s IT director.
Click here to read a story about the debate from The Connecticut Post. This story continues after the photo.
Johnathon Henninger Photo
Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto, left.
DEBATE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
The debate had five parts.
Part I (starts at the 5 minute, 15 second mark): Both candidates gave opening statements. Both slightly exceeded the agreed upon time limit of three minutes.
Part II (starts at 12 minutes, 51 seconds): High school student Christian Olenoski asked the candidates what they would do to help the education system in Derby.
Part III (starts at 16 minutes, 14 seconds): The candidates posed three questions to each other.
Dziekan asked Dugatto:
Why does Dugatto think so many Democratic Aldermen and registered Democrats don’t support her?
How much time does Mayor Dugatto spend in her dental office compared to the time she spends in City Hall?
Is the mayor happy with the “lack of hours” the mayor’s chief of staff spends at Derby City Hall?
Dugatto asked Dziekan:
Why does Dziekan think former Mayor Anthony Staffieri should be city treasurer?
How much is Dziekan looking to cut from the Derby budget and which line items would he start with?
How, specifically, would Dziekan develop downtown “faster.”
Johnathon Henninger Photo
GOP candidate Richard Dziekan.
In part IV, the candidates answered questions from The Valley indy. Part IV begins about 33 minutes, 16 seconds into the video.
Among the questions posed to the candidates:
- What are the candidates’ plans for the Derby Parking Garage?
- Where do the candidates stand on a proposal to convert Marshall Lane Manor, a former nursing home in east Derby, into a dormitory for foreign-born high school students?
- Would the candidates consider merging the school district, police department or public works with a surrounding town?
- Why was the city’s fund balance was hovering around 2 percent last year?
- What’s happening with 656 New Haven Ave., formerly home to Walmart?
- What can be done to prevent crime and improve the quality of life in the area of Anson Street?
Part V, the closing statements, starts at the 1 hour, 33 mark.
The campaigns and The Valley Indy created the debate’s format.
The crowd was rambunctious, and ignored several requests to remain quiet until the end of the debate. The rule was set in advance by the campaigns and The Valley Indy.
One man in the audience was eventually asked to leave because he was apparently intoxicated and would not be quiet, The Valley Indy was told after the debate ended.
