KY: Independents Can Make Decisions that No Party Candidate Could Make, Says Galbraith in Gov Debate

From Cincinnati.com:

Two of the three gubernatorial candidates debated in Covington Thursday afternoon, Republican State Senate President David Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith . . . 

Galbraith blamed partisan politics for Kentucky’s woes and said as an independent, he will work with both sides of the aisle. “I foresee that after my stint as governor, I’m going to be one of the most disliked people in the state because I’m going to have to make decisions that neither party candidate can possibly make, because they’ve got to answer to the party,” Galbraith said. “I don’t answer to anybody except God and an occasional judge or two.” . . .

NY-26: Greens Protest Candidate's Exclusion from Debate

From the Green Party of New York, via On the Wilder Side:

The Green Party of New York State would like to express its deep disappointment in the exclusion of Congressional candidate Ian Murphy from the upcoming May 12 debate in the 26th Congressional District. The decision to exclude Mr. Murphy denies voters in the district the chance to hear a legitimate candidate with a unique platform, and is an act of censorship on the part of a private station which profits from use of the public airwaves.  Voters have a first amendment right to hear all ballot-status candidates, and WGRZ is a private station on public airwaves which believes it has a right to exclude candidates from a debate.

WGRZ has admitted it is blatantly excluding a ballot-status candidate from a debate because of a personal disagreement between a station employee, Scott Levin, and Mr. Murphy.  The unlikeliness of this happening to Ms. Corwin or Hochul, as Democrats and Republicans, makes it all the more obvious that this is occurring because of Mr. Murphy’s status as a Green Party candidate.   Indeed,Jack Davis, an independent candidate, has also called for Mr. Murphy to be invited to the debate. We urge WGRZ to reinstate Ian Murphy into the May 12 debate as both the right and democratic thing to do.

Open the Debates

From the Daily Californian:

America is enormous, and with so many different opinions and political philosophies, it is absurd to think that holding an election with only two parties really results in an accurate picture of where the populace stands. All our elections do is force people to choose between two groups that don't actually stand for much at all.

Both of the major parties would have you think that they are the party of "you." But they hardly ever have you in their minds when making policy. The Republican Party would have us hand over our livelihoods to the Chamber of Commerce so that the Chamber can feed Wall Street, while the Democratic Party would have us answer to a Democratic administration that would ultimately serve those same corporations. Basically, when you go to the voting booth you have a choice between two corporate parties, both wanting to feed the cash cow on Wall Street in order to maintain the status quo. . . . .  So what can be done? Our best chance of reforming electoral politics is to open up the national debates . . .

Exclusionary Debates for Mayor of Chicago Rile Voters

From the Chicago Sun Times:

Normally, it is the Independent or the candidate representing a party besides the Democrats or Republicans who are left with their noses pressed up against the TV screen during sponsored debates. But in the most important local election in 20 years, even being a Democrat doesn’t guarantee you a seat at the table for debates being sponsored by local media and civic groups.

If comments posted on websites are to be believed, some viewers were stunned when only four of the six mayoral candidates were featured Monday on the first televised mayoral debate hosted by WTTW’s Chicago Tonight . . .

MI: Inclusive 5th-Grade Class Presidential Debate a Model for Supposed Grownups

From Advisor and Source Newspapers:

After holding a primary election earlier this month, fifth-grade students at Morgan Elementary School participated in a presidential debate Nov. 15 before heading to the polls the next day.

The event was organized by Angelo Harwood, a teacher at the school. According to Hardwood, the students involved are learning about the election process and have begun to identify the political party - Democrat, Republican or Independent - with which they believe they most align. . . .

Representing the Republican Party during the debate were presidential candidate Eamonn Gehle and his running mate, Thomas Alsobrooks . . . Anna Davies aligned herself with the Democratic Party prior to the debate. She was joined by vice-presidential candidate Domenic Angeli . . . Third-party candidate Dante Candela chose to run as an Independent. His choice for vice president was Thomas Dunn.

Read the whole thing.  

MA: Democrats Refuse to Debate Green Challengers, Why are Democrats so Afraid of Open Debates and Opposed to Political Comeptition?

From Green Party Watch:

The Berkshire Greens are calling foul on two Democratic state legislators for abruptly pulling out of debates with Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party candidates Scott Laugenour and Mark Miller:

The October 18 debates at BCC were called off for no-shows from the Democrat incumbent state rep candidates. The debate sponsors instead have scheduled interviews with the incumbents’ only opponents, conducted by the former debate moderator. Both Smitty Pignatelli (claiming miscommunication about debate date) and Chris Speranzo (for no stated reason) informed debate sponsors late Friday afternoon (Oct. 15) that they would not be debating at BCC tomorrow, Monday (Oct. 18).

Also on Friday, October 15, in the Berkshire Eagle, Clarence Fanto echoed Jonathan Levine’s earlier Pittsfield Gazette column denouncing Chris Speranzo for jockeying for two jobs at the same time. Speranzo has been interviewing (successfully) to be Central Berkshire District Court Clerk Magistrate although he is still on the ballot, running for state representative.

Is this the kind of behavior appropriate for democratically elected, taxpayer-funded representatives of the people?

TX-Gov: Republican Refuses to Participate in Inclusive Debate, Why Are Republicans Afraid of Open Debates and Opposed to Political Competition?

From Green Party Watch:

Texas Green Party gubernatorial candidate Deb Shafto took part in a debate with Democrat Bill White and Libertarian Kathy Glass on tuesday night. Republican incumbent Rick Perry refused to participate. ABC station KTRK has video from the debate, which is separated into 12 segments . . .

IL: Greens Protest Whitney's Exclusion from Gubernatorial Debate

From Medill Reports:

After being denied access to participate in a gubernatorial debate, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney held a protest in front of ABC 7 studios where the debate was held.  The League of Women Voters of Illinois hosted the debate between Republican Bill Brady and Democrat Pat Quinn, and excluded Whitney because of his low polling numbers. 

NY: Hawkins Participates in One-On-One Debate with Gubernatorial Write-In Candidate

From the Democrat and Chronicle:

And then there were two. A debate that aimed to give all candidates for governor a place to air their views in front of a Rochester-area audience at Henrietta Town Hall had just two participants on Friday, and one is waging a write-in campaign. . . . That left Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins with ample opportunity to talk about his support for a growth in government-sponsored jobs, a progressive tax structure and single-payer health care and his opposition to drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region, as he was the only candidate who will appear on the ballot who showed up.

NY: Hofstra University to Hold Inclusive, 7-Person Gubernatorial Debate

From the New York Times:

Andrew M. Cuomo and Carl P. Paladino will debate after all — but they won’t be alone. . . . The debate will also include five other candidates for governor who are on the ballot next month, including Kristin Davis, the former madam running on the line of the Anti-Prohibition Party, and Charles Barron, the Brooklyn city councilman running on the Freedom Party line.

MD: Third Party Candidates Demand Open Debates, Accuse Organizers of Electioneering

From the Baltimore Sun:

The three minor party candidates for governor are accusing WJZ-TV and the Baltimore Jewish Council, sponsors of a debate Monday between Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley and Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., of "electioneering," by excluding them.

Green Party candidate Maria Allwine, Libertarian Party candidate Susan Gaztanaga and Constitution Party candidate Eric Knowles have written several letters this week to the television station, demanding to be part of what could be the only gubernatorial debate this year.

Utah League of Independent Voters Documents Media Malfeasance, Corporate Party Bias

From Alison Peek at the Salt Lake City Examiner:

Following an investigation by the Utah League of Independent Voters (ULIV), it seems some stations have specific policies about how well a candidate is doing in the race before they are invited to the debate. KUED only allows candidates with poll numbers of at least 5%. That means you got to hear Herbert and Corroon.

When you participate in a political poll as most of us have, does the pollster ever ask about anyone other than the democratic and republican candidates? How can an independent candidate even register in polling figures if they are not part of the poll?
KSL recently aired its “Sunday Edition with Bruce Lindsay” featuring a “Conversation with the Candidates,” focusing on Utah’s third congressional district. They invited Democrat Karen Hyer and incumbent Republican Jason Chaffetz. There are three other people running for the third district seat - Jake Shannon (Libertarian), Doug Sligtig (Constitution) and independent Joe Puente. They were not even invited to join the conversation.

PA: Fearing Political Competition, Republican Boycotts Debate Because it Would Include Third Party Candidate

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Republican congressional candidate Patrick Meehan on Monday night pulled out of the final scheduled debate of the campaign, citing the presence of a third-party candidate who was invited to participate. 

Meehan faces Democrat Bryan Lentz and third-party candidate Jim Schneller in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak in Pennsylvania's Seventh District. Meehan and Lentz have met in four debates since August.

Schneller, who is running as the American Congress Party candidate, was not invited to the previous debates. The final debate, to be held by the League of Women Voters, is scheduled for Oct. 14.

League of Women Voters Continues to Hold Inclusive, Open Debates

From KSDK 5 out of St. Louis:

Friday night in St. Louis three of the four candidates who want to represent the St. Louis area in the third Congressional District took part in a public forum held at Forest Park Community College. The event was sponsored by the League of Women Voters.

Congressman Russ Carnahan, a Democrat, was joined by Republican candidate Ed Martin and Constitution Party candidate Nicholas Ivanovich. It was announced at the beginning of the evening that Libertarian Party candidate Steven Hedrick could not be in attendance.

PA-15: Jake Towne purged from debate to which he had already been invited

From Jake Towne:

The Morning Call devoted a half page elaborating why they are barring my campaign from their debate.   The article did not address 1) why the Morning Call first offered myself an invite which I accepted back in June, then rescinded this offer and 2) the deficiencies in the poll, which are highlighted here.

While I do respect an organization’s ability to invite or not invite candidates to their events, it is saddening to see this in a “free” press.  However, it is important to remember that regardless of the skewed poll, what is apparent is the campaign has a lot more work to do to get the message out.   I was invited by the Morning Call to take part in a live internet chat event next month, which I of course agreed to.  There is a debate on Friday in Allentown, feel free to come out and attend!!

IL: Green Senate Candidate Pushes for Inclusive Debates

From the Chicago Tribune, link sent from reader Dominik:

LeAlan Jones is asking supporters to call NBC News so he can be included in an Oct. 10 debate on "Meet the Press." Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk and Democrat Alexi Giannoulias are expected to appear on the show that day.

OH: La Botz Charges Ohio Newspaper Organization with Illegal Contributions to Democratic and Republican Campaigns

An article and press release from the Dan La Botz campaign for US Senate in Ohio:

Dan La Botz, Ohio’s Socialist candidate for United States Senate, today charged the Ohio Newspaper Organization (ONO) and its corporate members with making illegal corporate contributions to Rob Portman’s and Lee Fisher’s Senate campaigns.

ONO is a for-profit, business enterprise created by the eight largest newspapers in Ohio. These eight newspapers, the Toledo Blade, the (Canton) Repository, the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, the Columbus Dispatch, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Dayton Daily News, the Akron Beacon Journal, and the (Youngstown) Vindicator, are all profit-seeking corporations. Rob Portman is the Republican nominee for United States Senate in Ohio. Lee Fisher is the Democratic candidate.

The Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) prohibits corporations from making contributions or expenditures “in connection with” any federal election. 2 U.S.C. § 441b(a). “Contributions” and “expenditures” include “any direct or indirect payment ... or gift ... to any candidate, campaign committee, or political party or organization.” Id. § 441b(b)(2).

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has construed this broad prohibition to include sponsoring debates. In short, because of the potential for abuse and the risk that corporate money may skew electoral outcomes, it is illegal for corporations to sponsor, stage, or fund debates between candidates for federal office.

IL: Multi-Partisan Debates Likely in Gubernatorial Race if Green, Independent and Libertarian Candidates Surpass Polling Threshold

From bnd.com, via reader Dominik:

[The League of Women Voters], along with Chicago's WLS-TV, is sponsoring an Oct. 20 debate that could feature other candidates, such as the Green Party's Rich Whitney, if they have 10 percent support in an independent poll.

Downstate, the three candidates have verbally committed to an Oct. 14 debate, said Jak Tichenor, senior producer at WSIU-TV, the public broadcasting station in Carbondale. Other candidates for governor, such as independent Scott Lee Cohen and the Libertarian Party's Lex Green, will need 5 percent support in the polls to get in the debate. The debate will be broadcast on TV and radio.

TN: Green and Pirate Party House Candidates Demand Open and Inclusive Debates

From In Session:

The can­di­dates for the Green Party and the Pirate Party (this is a real thing) for the 5th House Dis­trict want U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper and Repub­li­can chal­lenger David Hall to debate them. But the two major-party can­di­dates have ignored their entreaties for a month now, Green nom­i­nee John Migli­etta and Pirate nom­i­nee Stephen Collings, who flies the flag of the Lib­er­tar­ian Party in addi­tion to the Jolly Roger, say in a press release this morning.

AR: Democrat Lincoln Calls for Inclusive Debate

From the Arkansas Times blog:

This morning, Lincoln issued a press release, not only agreeing to a debate, but proposing the candidates sit down for four such occasions, one for each congressional district. Lincoln's campaign also reaches out to Independent candidate Trevor Drown and Green Party candidate John Gray.