It was a marathon: four-and-a-half hours, fourteen candidates, an audience that filled all the tables along the VFW walls as well as long columns and rows of chairs across the dance floor and, according to Anne Campbell, Onset Protective League president, at least 100 cups of coffee.

But the candidate's speeches and their responses to audience questions, which moderator Nancy Miller ensured were asked to the group rather than individual candidates, provided Wareham voters an opportunity to learn about the candidates themselves as well as the important issues affecting the town.

The following is an attempt to showcase the candidates' responses to issues facing Wareham. For more information about each candidate, please view our candidate profiles.  For more detail about the responses or to experience the marathon for your self, look for the event soon on WCTV.

Lynne Burroughs and Rhonda Veugen are vying for an open seat on the School Committee.  The candidates discussion included how to cooperatively work on the board, dealing with a budget shortfall, and providing necessary services.

We need to reduce inflated administrative salaries and positions and give it back to the kids. It's about the kids, and we as taxpayers and voters need to make it about our kids once and for all. We need to put more money into resources for our classrooms. When a teacher spends their own money on their students, they should not be buying pencils and paper. They should be buying something that enriches the lessons that they teach. - Lynne Burroughs

On top of traditional methods, we have to think differently about how we get much-needed resources into our schools. One of the first things I want to do is I want to ask for us to pull together a committee of active citizens to research alternative funding, to suggest additional ways for parents and community members to get involved, and to recommend efficiencies that can be debated and then put into action. - Rhonda Veugen

Our current School Committee, in my opinion, does not address our special education deficits, and I believe that I will strengthen all of our students, that I will strengthen our schools, that I will strengthen our administrators and our School Committee with the knowledge that I have about that. - Lynne Burroughs

I think that the most important things that we need to consider and think about are 'What are the needs of our children?' and how are we going give them enough resources, whether it's people, dollars, whatever it is, so that they can have a quality education and move on. - Rhonda Veugen

Melodye Conway is challenging incumbent Mary Ann Silva in her race for Town Clerk.  The candidates discussed implementing new technology and current stumbling blocks in the Town Clerk's office.

I know that there is technology in the office or equipment in the office that could enable some of the paperwork to be handled a little bit better, also to allow things to be put up online more quickly. I believe there's a lot that can be done and that's what I bring to the table, is that willingness to move forward, look at new technologies within the budget, not looking for any additional funds. Take advantage of the equipment and the resources that you have today and just making it work better. - Melodye Conway

My position rested with sticking to what the residents of the town have become accustomed to these many years, and that would be the reliable, consistent, and positive service many experience when going to the Town Clerk's office. As Town Clerk, I have strived to set an example for the ladies that I have had the pleasure to work with all these years. I have and I continue to strive to be a positive role model and leader for all the people of Wareham. - Mary Ann Silva

Current Town Moderator John Donahue is being challenged by Claire Smith.  The discussion focused on possible improvements to Town Meeting, how voting could be more representational of the community, and maintaining order during rowdy town meetings.

I would like to go back to something I did when I had the concerned citizens group and that is to have the FinCom and the Selectmen come to a public meeting and do a pre-town meeting and go over the warrant articles. There's so little time when you get to Town Meeting, often people get there, they're flipping through the warrant, trying to figure out what the article is about and all of a sudden the vote is being taken. So I would like to do a pre-town meeting and give us time to go through the warrant, go over the articles, let people answer some questions, or ask some questions and get some answers. Probably have a little bit better understanding for what the article actually is before we get to town meeting. - Claire Smith

One of the things that I did when I was first elected was I worked in collaboration with other like-minded people who want to improve the technology in Town Meeting and to improve the efficiency of the process. So I worked with several individuals to bring power point presentations to the town meeting...all of the warrant articles are projected on the screen and then the motions for those articles are also projected., I believe it makes the town meeting flow a lot more efficiently. In my attempt to strike a balance between allowing everybody to be heard and to try to conduct town meeting in an efficeient manner, I've introduced the use of an electric timer...a two-minute electronic timer is posted on the screen, and I think that benefits not only the speakers who are given that two minutes, but also everybody in attendance. - John Donahue

Five candidates are seeking two seats available on the Board of Selectmen.  Steve Holmes, Cara Winslow, and Frank DeFelice are challenging incumbents Bruce Sauvageau, Chair, and John Cronan.  Points of discussion included parking solutions for Onset and whether the Onset Crime Watch should issue parking tickets, how to increase tax revenue in Wareham, positive changes made by the Board of Selectmen, and affordable housing, particularly housing dedicated to seniors.

I agree with the medical building, that is great for the Town of Wareham. Also the lifeguards. Getting the lifeguards back I think is huge because we are a resort area, really, and not to have lifeguards is a sad thing.  So I think that's really commendable. The certification of the library, how a few of the selectmen went out of their way to get that recertified, I think that's commendable. - Frank DeFelice

Parking is an issue for us in living in Onset, that many of our businesses owners have a problem with, that most of our visitors have a problem with, and we need to find some solutions.  Recently, I had a meeting where we talked with some of the folks at Bay Pointe Country Club to utilize their parking...and we talked about putting a trolley service in so that people could come for the day and take their beach chairs down to the beach, and they could hang out for the day and then when they were done, they could go to a restaurant, go to a shop, get back on the trolley, and go back to their car and leave town if they needed to. - Steve Holmes

Commercial development is a big plus. The Makepeace building...once they start to put their facility over there at the crossroads of 195, you're going to see, I hope, an explosion of commercial properties. Take a look at Cranberry Highway. The State's taking a look at fixing that up down there. If we can work with some of the stimulus money that's out there that nobody's going after, Cranberry Highway can be dressed up. The property owners can get some stimulus money and make the appearance a little bit better, people will start stopping down there. There's a lot of stimulus money out there...if we work as a community and go after it...if we can get some of the money to fix up, and get some low interest loans for the property owners, and fix up downtown, you can get some small businesses, you can get some people coming into the town. - John Cronan

As far as producing revenues, the fastest and most surest way to produce revenues for us is, as has been said correctly, is economic development which increases tax revenues, increases jobs, increases real-estate taxes, and it eventually increases services. We want rail in Wareham. That's one of the economic development objectives for this board. Look what it did for the tax base and the property values of Lakeville. That will bring employees who will bring employers, and it will be an excellent conduit to other jobs. - Bruce Sauvageau