The Kingston Wire cohosted a debate with the Hudson Valley Pilot this past Monday for the 103rd NYS Assembly District’s Democratic Primary. It’s incumbent Sarahana Shrestha up against her challenger Gabi Madden, and the election is coming up on June 25. Normally, this wouldn’t have much to do with me – as a Napanoch resident, the 103rd isn’t my district. But time was tight and the Wire needed an MC, so at 6 p.m. on Monday, I was the one who got up on stage and started the show.

There’s plenty to read about the debate on the Kingston Wire site already – our editor Dan Barton wrote an excellent editorial – so I’ll try not to be repetitive. But he and I are in agreement that the high temperatures that evening were a main character at the event. It was held at the Old Dutch Church in uptown Kingston – a beautiful, centuries-old building with absolutely no air-conditioning. I remember my sister sitting in a pew as attendees began to file in, fanning herself with the list of debate questions. She said she felt like a Southern belle, sweating in a church like that.

She was onto something. There was a sense of tradition, of good old-fashioned open discussion and democracy, brought to life by the debate. Something age-old and distinctly American, enhanced by the heat. It reminded us both of that scene in To Kill a Mockingbird in the courthouse, when Atticus is arguing his case. The spectators behind him brave the stifling Alabama summer, fanning themselves as Atticus fights for the rights of Tom Robinson, his client.

The church was packed, standing room only, when I got up to speak. I laid out the rules, recited the introductions, holding a clip board so I looked official. It was the most orderly part of the evening.

There was real passion in the crowd, more than any of us expected. The moderators had a hell of a time keeping the claps and cheers under control. I was sent around with a bowl full of index cards and pencils for audience questions, which helped rechannel the energy in the room. We collected over 60 questions, submitted by a crowd of just about 300. Some people even asked me for more than one card.

It made me think about the earliest gatherings of this sort in America, the New England town meetings where citizens came together not just to listen, but to actually vote on colonial policies. Direct democracy, where everyone shows up, and everyone has a say. This is a deep memory I dredged up from high school – Mr. Althouse’s US history class to be exact. I’ll never forget the book he made us read, The Puritan Dilemma, truly painful drudgery all about the Massachusetts Bay Colony and those precious meetings. I finally saw that spirit in action, so to Mr. Althouse I extend a belated apology.

When we hit 7:30 p.m., we called it quits, every forehead in the crowd was glistening. I got up and told everybody to let out all that pent-up applause. It was thunderous.

What an evening. It was lively, wildly informative, and rousing to see so many people so invested. It made me proud to play a role, however small, and proud of the Kingston Wire for taking it on. Election day is coming up, and I hope we organize another one.