Endorsement interviews
I know that the editorial board is conducting individual interviews with each Greensboro City Council candidate rather inviting all the candidates per district in for a group interview. It makes sense; the board can dig deeper into each candidate's ideas and thought processes. (In my position now, I have nothing to do with the editorial endorsements.)
Still, there is something to be said about group interviews. They sometimes generate both heat and light. When I was editorial page editor in 1998, Steve Arnold and Mary Anne Busch were running against each other for the Board of Commissioners, and we had them in for a group interview. It was clear from the start that Steve didn't care for Mary Anne. When we asked him why he would be the better choice, he called Mary Anne unstable and unbalanced, and asked her point blank about her psychiatric history. I don't remember her answer, but I remember she responded with uncommon grace for a county commissioner candidate in those days.
We had endorsed Steve when he ran four years earlier. His behavior in that session pretty much turned the tide against him for that election cycle, and we endorsed Mary Anne. In any event, he won re-election handily, and has held onto that commissioners' seat since 1990.
We may not have had the time to explore their positions, but we did get a good picture of their behaviors. And it was exciting to watch.