A debate over debates has broken out in the race between Democratic Congressman Ron Barber and his Republican challenger, Martha McSally.
On Sept. 4, Team Barber challenged McSally to two debates. Later that day, Team McSally responded with a demand for four debates. Team Barber eventually agreed to three debates and Team McSally has continued to needle Team Barber about a potential fourth debate.
But a representative from the League of Women Voters told the Weekly that one of the three Congressional District 2 debate, scheduled for this Sunday, Sept. 28, had to be called off because Team McSally would not commit to participating.
Bob Richardson said he sent both campaigns a registered letter on Sept. 4 that asked them to commit to a debate on Sept. 28 that would be televised by KVOA-TV by Sept. 12. Team Barber agreed to the debate, but Richardson didn’t hear back from Team McSally by the deadline, so he took the extra step of contacting McSally spokesman Patrick Ptak to try to set up a debate.
Richardson, a former news director and anchor at KVOA News, said that he made multiple efforts to get the McSally campaign to confirm their participation in the debate, but Ptak would not commit to the event.
“I talked to him several times and he never would commit to it,” Richardson said.
Richardson added that KVOA staff also tried to confirm the debate with Team McSally, but could not get an agreement to participate. Last Friday, Sept. 19, a KVOA staffer let Ptak know that he didn’t hear back with a confirmation by the end of the day, KVOA would have to back out of participating in the debate, according to Richardson.
A KVOA producer called Richardson on Monday, Sept. 22, to let him know that they had not heard back from Team McSally and were going to have to back out of the debate, so the League canceled the event, according to Richardson.
The Weekly has reached out to KVOA News Director Cathie Batbie to learn more about KVOA’s role in the debate scheduling.
Richardson said Ptak had said that Team McSally was trying to make sure the Sept. 28 date worked. But he didn’t ask Richardson about alternative dates.
In a statement to the Weekly, Ptak didn’t address Richardson’s account of the negotiations over the debate but said the campaign was “surprised and disappointed to hear news that it was cancelled.”
Ptak added that “Barber agreed to three debates. We’re calling on him to honor that agreement and debate Martha on the number one issue for voters—job creation.”
Earlier today, Ptak sent out a press release challenging Barber to a debate to be hosted by the Tucson Metro Chamber and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Team Barber spokeswoman Ashley Nash-Hahn said Barber had been “looking forward to the League of Women Voter’s debate.”
“Who could possibly keep track of Martha McSally’s endless twists and turns over whether she will debate, or when, or where?” Nash-Hahn added. “McSally and her Washington, D.C. operatives would rather play games with Southern Arizona then talk openly about the issues facing our community. This is truly a missed opportunity for the honest and rigorous debate that Southern Arizona deserves.”
This article appears in Sep 25 – Oct 1, 2014.
No thanks. No interest in hearing either one of them.
So, McSally complains about Barber fearing to debate her enough, and then she backs out of an already scheduled debate? That is not logical – unless she was afraid of someone at the League of Women Voters. Step up.
Why is McSally even running in Arizona? She does not seem to be from here, especially since she worked out of state between the special election and her last run against Barber. Oh, yes, she is financed partially by the Koch brothers who seem to influence a number of politicians.
Here are our major problems. NEITHER Party has given the public/voters decent candidates for representing U.S./us for decades. This election is the same ol’ same ol’. I have tried to contact BOTH candidates for answers to questions which weigh on my mind and get double talk from Barber or he skirts around the original question and beats his chest with pseudo ‘championships. Have called McSally’s headquarters and talked to people who had ‘no idea’ for answers to my questions and was promised to call me back with information. This has yet to happen. As mentioned prior…blame the two Party System for giving us more of nothing and nobodies. Like the fat lady in the circus: All that money spent for food and no nourishment. Give us substance and we could flourish. But, dangling carrots in front of our faces offers little to feed on.
It would be interesting and perhaps even helpful if Dusty would give instances of questions which weigh on his mind and for which the CD 2 candidates provide either ‘talk arounds’ or no answers at all. Unfortunately his statement reads a lot like the responses/non-responses he claims to have received: pretty vague.
I shall give an example now: When calling Barber’s office to give my opinion on illegal alien problem I get a response thanking me for my concern and he then goes into another topic without answering or responding to my call. When calling McSally’s office I asked if it is true she is in favor of privatizing Social Security and they did not know. There have been other topics and wish I could think of them right at the moment so far as Barber is concerned where he writes or e mails and talks about something entirely different from what I called about. But, NEITHER candidate has much going for them aside of Party affiliation and this is what they are counting on. Truth is there are no Democrats or Republicans. Only politicians by any other name. It’s like giving us two choices…either vote for Lucifer or Satan…either way we’re going to have a helluva time existing under what they have offered .
Candidates have no interest in the League of Women Voters. Is that some kind of a code name for something else?
Team Barber has done a lousey job for southern Arizona. The only one wanting him back in office are the out of towners like Nancy Pelosi.
By the way, I heard McSally say she was Not in favor of privitizing social security. She said this was as Jessie Kelly idea that the Barber people were using to smear her. I believed her.
Once again you will see that lying about the other candidate to win an election will cause voter backlash.
Who was it that said Barber was only running for reelection to qualify for lifetime Congressional benefits?
translation:
Sally McMartha is not ready for primetime at this time.
… ( and RB is not exactly a ‘charisma’-type pol. )
She’ll lose to him once again.
McSally is a joke! If she wins anyone who votes for her gets exactly what they deserve a idiot who is bought and paid for by those in the 2% elite and those will be the only constituents she will ever care about or do a thing for!
Tucson Rondo, if McSally now claims that she does not favor privatizing social security or medicare then she has changed her tune from when I spoke to her personally before the last election. I expressed my concern over such a development and her response was, “What do you care since you are covered under the old format since you are already on social security and medicare.” That indicated to me that she will simply follow along with what her handlers tell her to do.
Thank you, Judith Richardson, for the “What do you care?” quote. It encapsulates what appears to be McSally’s ‘philosophy’ in a very few words. She doesn’t and we shouldn’t give a damn about anyone except perhaps those whose needs and desires mirror our own. Did she acquire that ‘me first, tough on you’ attitude from her family? Or was it the Catholic girls high school in Rhode Island? Or the Air Force Academy? In any event, while her positions may change, we’ve seen no evidence that her ‘philosophy’ has. I’d advise anyone who wants to vote for a colonel to vote for Colonel Sanders, or his sort-maybe-kinda look-alike in this contest, our home-grown Representative Ron Barber.
You wont find any info in this rag except that the DNC is good and everybody else is bad. Candidates will say and do anything to get elected. And that includes everyone. The best bet is kick the incumbent out. Barber didnt want to be a politician, his wife didnt want him to be a politician, he was only going to fill out Gabbys term, and now the feeling of the power and money has changed him.
Tucson Rondo, My wife and I have lived here 19 years and we know lots of locals, even some natives, who want to keep OUR representative Ron Barber in office.
Everyone knows that the leaque of WV is entrenched with a bunch of uber liberal idealogues. I wouldn’t want to play in a game where we know that the thing is rigged. Kind of like what happened in the last Pres. election when that fat wannabe reporter Candy whatever ambushed Romney!
By my recollection it was Romney who ambushed himself from beginning to end of his campaign. Of course it was probably an uber-liberal who taped him explaining that we takers – I get a Social Security check monthly — wouldn’t vote for him, and that 47% of his fellow Americans are losers.
To Rick Jason…
McSally is hoping for the femnist vote.. and at this point, she knows she’s not going to get it.. that will be the tipping point in the election.
The woman is not an Arizonian.. she is a tool of the Koch Brothers, and the Republican Party.
Arizona is increasingly becoming a go to state for rertirees… privatize Social Security, and Arizona will become an “Old Pueblo”.. with no jobs, no future
It’s funny how the average age of Arizona fluctuates so wildly when the Snowbirds hit.
Life is cheap here.. as with values, education, civil rights, etc.
Danger Rick Jason.. you could end up with the short stick, if McSally gets elected.. she is only beholden to money, which is not from Arizona.