This unhappy event brought all four candidates together for the first time in a campaign that, up to now, has largely been fought in letters to the editor and an excess of political signs and posters all over town.

The Democrats seem to have decided to sit this election out, fielding two candidates for the two minority seats on the board, who appear to have stepped back from the fray.

Veteran Selectman Carol Hubert is joined by Edward Gittines, currently serving as an alternate on the Zoning Commission, who brings a record of community involvement and a valuable background in information technology.

Club President John Putnam invited opening statements from candidates across the table right to left.

Chad Landmon is one of 13 equity partners in a nationally active law firm, with responsibility for a $22 million annual budget, as well as employee evaluation and hiring and firing. He recently served as vice chairman of the Charter Revision Commission.

John Turk has spent 32 years in public and private service. Currently a member of the Board of Selectmen, he also chairs the Economic Development Commission, which is responsible for marketing the 202-acre Southbury Corporate Park, as well as expanding the commercial tax base generally.

He chaired the first committee on tax relief for seniors. Professionally, he is the business manager of the New Milford Board of Education and administers a budget of $37 million.

Joseph Santonocito is a retired licensed nursing home administrator who now lives in Heritage Village where he serves on his condo board and was recently elected as its trustee.

As the only candidate to represent the village, he told the audience, "Your interests and mine are the same."

Kenneth Korsu, who was not supported by the RTC nominating committee, will be listed on the ballot as a petitioning candidate.

His professional credentials include 30 years experience as a business executive, retiring in October 2008 as head of human resources with Self Help Community Services in New York City.

His resume includes expertise on issues relating to the terms of union contracts, as well as management of annual budgets in excess of $60 million.

That was pretty much the end of the Mr. Nice Guy portion of the program. Allegations of impropriety spewed out in all directions.

Robert Barnes, who was described later in the meeting, as Mr. Korsu's campaign manager, passed out a copy of an unsigned, undated memo from John Turk to a staff member in the first selectman's office, requesting her to forward a copy of the Southbury Corporate Park RFP to Charles Spath, owner of the Stuart Somers engineering company, and to Dymar, which is owned by Mark Lancor, suggesting an insider tip-off.

Attached to this sheet was a report dated February 9, 2007 from the state Department of Banking alleging inappropriate actions by John Bucciarelli, who was then serving on the Economic Development Commission, including accepting $3,000 payment from the Southbury Police Department.

Mr. Bucciarelli is a candidate for the Region 15 Board of Education, for which Mr. Barnes is a write-in candidate.

When J.R. (Jenni Rose) Parker, a member of the GOP Town Committee, began an interrogation of Mr. Korsu about his failure to vote in town elections, it devolved into a confession by all the candidates of the elections they had missed, usually because they did not have enough information to make a decision on either the issue or the person.

A question from Jon Norris in the audience about the proposal, which failed in referendum earlier this year, to form an independent police department, brought disclaimers from everyone of the not-at-this-time, I-would-need-to-know more, variety.

Mr. Korsu alleged that opportunities to develop Southbury Corporate Park had been missed. Specifically, he said, that the Cabella sporting goods store had finally walked away from a deal that included a 40,000 square-foot store in Southbury, on account of the town's draconian land use policies. A dialysis company suffered similar rebuttal.

First Selectman Bill Davis, whose opposition consists of two write-in candidates, was given the mike over objections from Selectman Barbara McLaughlin in the audience.

He listed all the voting opportunities missed by all three candidates, and reported Internet research that showed dents in Mr. Korsu's corporate reputation.

He continued, while honoring Mr. Korsu as a decorated Vietnam War veteran, that in the 27 years he lived in Southbury, he was not involved in the town and, by his own admission, did not vote.

In other words, the gloves were off.

But Mr. Davis' message ultimately came down to one word: Vote!