All politics is local, especially in Kingston, NY: Mayoral debate, Oct. 17, 2023

Ulster Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters sponsored a debate between mayoral candidates Steve Noble, the incumbent, and Scott Denny, the challenger, at the Best Western on Oct. 17, 2023. Photo by Eric Francis.

Kingston, NY Affiliate Station

Previously in this series, the debate between candidates for Ulster County District Attorney.

Dear Friend and Listener:

From the “All Politics is Local” series, here is today’s debate between incumbent Kingston Mayor Steve Noble and challenger Scott Denny. While this Substack reaches a worldwide audience, you may find it interesting what issues come to the surface in a small city (population 23,000 or so) located in a rural part of New York State. Kingston is about two hours north of Manhattan, and an hour south of Albany, the state capital.

Today’s debate was sponsored by the Ulster Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters.

Though I primarily cover global issues, scientific fraud and mass poisoning incidents, I do my best to keep a pulse on local politics, governance and law enforcement.

For me as a journalist and publisher, this is about maintaining my grounding and situational awareness. Part of the journalism training for participants in Chiron Return, the nonprofit that publishes this Substack, calls on students of journalism to report on local events in their area. If you can cover the planning board or town council effectively and in an engaging way, you can cover anything.

There was a time where I might have thought of an event like this as tedious (and I’m happy that I don’t have to write about the details of the issues at this stage of my career — I can just share the audio). But in 2023, as the world continues to be swallowed by Amazon, Google and ChatGPT, I was very happy to be around community business and political leaders, taking photos and swapping business cards.

There are still a couple of weeks before the U.S. election on Nov. 7, and there is time to catch events like this in your community. Remember that it’s about the people as much as it is about the issues.

This is a production of Planet Waves FM - Chiron Return, a local affiliate of Pacifica Radio Network.

— Eric F. Coppolino
Sr. Producer — Planet Waves FM - Chiron Return

Kingston Mayor Steve Noble, with wife Julie Noble. Photo by Eric Francis.

Mayoral challenger Scott Denny with wife Jana Denny . Photo by Eric Francis.

Kingston Mayor Steve Noble. Photo by Eric Francis.

Challenger Scott Denny. Photo by Eric Francis.

Fountain outside the Best Western. Photo by Eric Francis.