Chevy Chase Candidates forum

This is a review of the recent Chevy Chase Citizens Association candidates forum. This was the second, of I believe two forums where the Ward 3 Council candidates will meet:

There was a good crowd at the meeting, in part because it included a forum for candidates for School Board president. Much of the dialogue between Cheh and Conroy covered very familiar ground: both candidates reiterated positions that can be found on their websites. Cheh spoke of her support for transit-oriented development on upper Wisconsin Avenue that focuses on pedestrian-friendly access to retail stores, while Conroy favored the status quo - saying that there are already plenty of retail and grocery stores there.

The only new issue addressed was the question of where each stood on a woman's right to choose and DC support for benefits for same-sex partners.

Conroy declared she was pro-life. While she doesn't support a woman's right to choose, she is endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans, and would support laws on the books. As for the second part of the question, she said that she believed such matters should be left to states. Cheh said that she supports a woman's right to choose, and linked the issue to her commitment to fight for the District of Columbia right to self-determination. She noted that Congress has forbidden the DC government to pay for abortions for low-income women, and called it an intolerable situation. It was interesting that this was the only response of the night that drew applause from the audience.