Voters who packed the Dudley L. Brown VFW on Thursday, March 16, heard a little bit about a bunch of subjects from candidates running for office in the April 3 town election.

The Onset Protective League's Nancy Miller, who moderated the event, said she was happy with the turnout of the four-and-a-half hour event, which even featured a sing-along led by Wareham resident Tom Monaghan during a brief intermission as the Wareham Community Television crew swapped a full tape for a fresh one as the clock ticked past 11 p.m.

Attendees heard from candidates running for Deputy Moderator, Housing Authority, Board of Assessors, School Committee, and Board of Selectmen.

Here's a recap of what the Selectmen and School Committee hopefuls had to say. Responses are listed in the order they were spoken.

There are three people running for one three-year term on the Board of Selectmen: former Selectman Bruce Sauvageau, active volunteer Alan Slavin, and Board of Assessors member David Smith.

Three candidates are running for one two-year term on the Board of Selectmen -- the seat vacated by Michael Schneider. Two-year candidates are: Amit Johar, Peter Teitelbaum, and former Selectman Patrick Tropeano.

Tropeano was present at the beginning of Candidates Night, but not when the Selectmen candidates took the stage. Reached by phone on Friday, Tropeano said a food-related illness came on fast and he had to leave. He's since decided to bow out of the race.

"If you don't do the OPL [Candidates Night] and things like that, it makes it very difficult to win a race. It's an extremely important piece of the whole" election," he said. "I really owe the town a lot and I'd love to help out and maybe I can find some other way."

Do each of you support a Proposition 2 1/2 override and/or debt exclusion? (The School Committee has requested an override and debt exclusions in an attempt to avoid layoffs, purchase books and buses, and pay for building repairs. Both would raise property taxes.)

"No, and the reason for that is as I said before, this is not the time to be hitting up the taxpayers' pocketbook for additional change." - Amit Johar

"This is a very difficult time for the School Committee to come before Town Meeting with such a request. ... As with every article on the [Town Meeting] warrant, however, I would like to hear what my fellow Town Meeting members have to say about it ... before making a decision." - Peter Teitelbaum

"No. I do not support overrides, debt exclusions, or increasing the tax burden on Wareham's already extremely overburdened taxpayer. ... I understand the school administration has an impossible job to do. ... If we can't live within our means, then what is the point of electing anybody?" - Bruce Sauvageau

"Nobody at this time wants to pay any more taxes. We have one problem. We all got educated. Somebody else paid for it. We have a responsibility, morally and ethically, to educate our children. ... Do you kick the can down the road for a long time? What are you going to do? You're not going to educate your children? You're not going to have the safety as far as buses go? I don't have the answer." - Alan Slavin

"It's going to be done through Town Meeting." - David Smith, noting that Town Meeting makes the first big decision on whether the override or debt exclusions pass. They then go before the larger electorate in a town-wide election.

How can the town reduce the burden on residents paying for town sewer?

"Unfortunately I haven't been able to go to any of the meetings ... so I have no idea." - David Smith

"Every family out there is getting hit with the economy. ... I only see two avenues from a business standpoint. Obviously we need to complete the outstanding [sewer] contracts that are out there. ... The second part is revenue generation. We need to do a better job of soliciting the business community in this town so we can have money to do what we want to do." - Amit Johar

"I would suggest that we hold of on Contract 3 until the national election in the fall. ... I don't think we're harmed if we hold off a few short months to see what happens in Washington and hope that they can get some kind of stimulus package through." - Peter Teitelbaum

"Every resident in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is entitled by law to a $6,000 tax credit for those tax payers required to move off of septic and on to sewer if mandated by a legislative act. ... [It's] the only way that those residents in those contracts can get $6,000 worth of relief." - Bruce Sauvageau

"As far as the $6,000 credit, please understand that that credit is for a failed system or a system under a state-mandated program. Since I have a system that we recently replaced I don't qualify for the credit. ... The most important thing right now is to find out if the Water Pollution Control Facility is making or losing money with the EDU rate." - Alan Slavin

Town Administrator Mark Andrews' three-year contract is up for renewal this year. How do each of the candidates feel about the renewal of his contract?

"The decision to retain the town administrator comes down to the performance of his goals" as given to him by the Board of Selectmen. "I'm going to have to take a little bit of time to go through everything before I can make a decision." - Alan Slavin

"I personally feel that I would like to see him stay on as administrator, but again, this is going to be determined later by what ... the majority of the people of Wareham feel." - David Smith, stressing that he would speak to Wareham's citizens before making a decision.

"I'm kind of surprised that it hasn't been already dealt with. ... What's the other option we have? You really don't have somebody knocking down your door. ... Unless we've got a Harvard MBA waiting somewhere, I think you should extend it." - Amit Johar

"The only way I can be fair both to the town and Mr. Andrews is to take a measure of the man myself." - Peter Teitelbaum, noting that the Selectmen have until June to make a decision, giving him time to gather the thoughts of Wareham residents and work with Andrews if elected.

"My perspective is, he is the only town administrator that I've ever worked with that I would rehire for that job. ... Mr. Andrews has an extraordinary work ethic. ... He's smart. He's very intuitive." - Bruce Sauvageau

What would you do as a Selectman to accelerate the development of the Westfield project? (The project would provide affordable senior housing on the 77-acre Westfield property in West Wareham. The project was overwhelming approved by Town Meeting in October 2010 after twice being sent for further study at previous Town Meetings.)

"I believe that housing is a priority. ... I think there's not only low-cost housing, but housing for everybody is something we need to go forward to. I have not been privy to the different ways or means. I'm going to take possibly a couple of months in order to understand the different problems that are going on." - David Smith

"I don't know enough specifics to know where the lag is coming in from to go rectify that. ... One thing I don't understand is ... if I ran my business this way, I'd be out of business by now. ... This town desperately needs the tax revenue." - Amit Johar

"I think we have to acknowledge that we're in a very difficult time economically. ... Any construction project where there might be some risk ... [developers] are not grasping to try to get that business at this time." - Peter Teitelbaum

"This certainly would be an attractive investment or a sure, secure investment if we would just treat it that way. ... We have something to offer here and we have a credible project. ... Westfield is an economic development priority." - Bruce Sauvageau

"It hasn't been financially feasible to developers. ... We passed rules at Town Meeting of how this had to be structured. ... We need to go back to developers and say, 'Here's what we have. ... What will get you to step up and bid on this?' ... The bottom line is, if you want to speed up this project, you have to sit with developers and see what they will actually do to make a bid." - Alan Slavin

How are you going to help the seniors in this town who are in need of help?

"I would like to hear more specificity as to what the needs are, but initially one of the things that I would like to change in this town is the way sewer rates are assessed. I don't believe that the EDU rate system [annual sewer user fee] takes into account people who are older, whose kids have left the house. ... They're using much less water." - Peter Teitelbaum

"We don't pass overrides. We don't pass tax increases on a population that's financially struggling right now. ... Affordable housing is a perfect way to assess their real needs." - Bruce Sauvageau

"Our state and our federal agencies keep cutting back. ... We just need to keep working and finding alternatives" for funding to help. - Alan Slavin, noting that he would particularly like to help with transportation needs.

"If you bring your ideas to me when I'm elected, I will support it. ... The seniors can and must get support from Selectmen." - David Smith

"Pursuing a lot of small businesses that are established in other towns like Plymouth because if we can get our revenue stream in-house that will help us address the concerns of seniors." - Amit Johar

Three candidates are vying for two seats on the School Committee. Lynne Burroughs has twice run unsuccessfully for a School Committee position, Michael Flaherty is running for his first elected position, and incumbent Geoff Swett is seeking his third term on the committee.

Do the candidates support a Proposition 2 1/2 override and/or debt exclusion for the school Department?

"I support all four of [the debt exclusions]. The total cost for the taxpayer ... would be about $20 per year for about five years. ... It is unconscionable to me that we have to ask the taxpayers to do this. ... If [the state] had updated the Chapter 70 formula, we would have millions more to spend. ... I think it's a good investment." - Geoff Swett

"Status quo is not an option. If these debt exclusions do not pass, we'll be below status quo. ... Whenever I hear people oppose any sort of override ... I don't hear any other solutions. I'd love to hear other ideas, but this is the last resort. I don't like taxes as much as anyone." - Michael Flaherty

"I'm against an override or debt exclusion 100% until we have responsible administration in place. ... I just don't think it's clear on what exactly [the School Department is] looking for and both are very different. ... We're losing students, we're losing teachers, and we're spending a heck of a lot more money and that just doesn't jive." - Lynne Burroughs

What is your understanding of the non-financial duties of School Committee members?

"By law, the School Committee is responsible for the budget, the policies of the schools, and the hiring and firing of the superintendent. I can tell you that a School Committee member who only focuses on the budget is missing the big picture. ... Unfortunately, the budget occupies so much of our time because of the shortage of resources." - Geoff Swett

"We have subcommittees just like Selectmen that we're expected to serve on. ... One of the big things in town is to respond to citizens and students ... and for them to feel comfortable coming forward. .. I'd like to see more arts and intramurals for students and the kinds of things that keep them in [school]." - Lynne Burroughs

"The metrics. ... If you learn that something like RTI [Response to Intervention] is supposed to be one [teacher] on two [students] and it's one-on-five, that's the School Committee's job to look into it. ... If you watch some of these School Committee meetings ... a lot of it, when you get into it, goes over your head." - Michael Flaherty, advocating for a "parents' guide" to School Committee meetings.

What is happening with the morale in our school system?

"One of the biggest points I'm making is that our teachers are overwhelmed. We need more of them. ... It seems like for the whole day they're just straight-out and that's not good in any profession." - Michael Flaherty

"I've spoken with several teachers over the last several years and can honestly say that not only is there a decrease in teacher morale, but I would have to say that I've witnessed it. ... I think that honest and transparent leadership that supports them, increasing lower-level support staff thereby decreasing the burden on teachers" would help. - Lynne Burroughs

"You cannot pick up a newspaper in this country -- national, statewide, citywide, not so much the town -- without having educators and public education attacked, so if you're part of that profession, that's not great for morale. ... Morale is really tough, which is exactly why I wanted to get them this lower-level support with these instructional leaders so they don't feel so alone. ... We can't have them quitting after two or three years because they're not supported." - Geoff Swett