According to a press release I just received, the three Democratic candidates for LG – Jody Wagner, Jon Bowerbank and Mike Signer – have agreed to a fourth debate. This one will be hosted by Inside Scoop and televised in Northern Virginia and over the internet on May 10 at 6:30 pm.
My email has been bombarded over the last few days as, first Signer, then Bowerbank, called for more debates. (Signer has also mentioned it numerous times in his tweets.)
While I happen to be a fan of debates (despite the increasingly negative tone of the gubernatorial debates), sometimes enough is enough. As I watched last night’s debate with a group that included some political insiders as well as some political newbies, I recalled just how tiresome it can be to participate in these things. After the second or third one, each of the candidates already knows what the others are going to say. Nothing new comes out – and by the time the public tunes in, the candidates are pretty much in their mudslinging mode. That’s what I saw last night. And it’s what I fear just must happen in this fourth debate between the LG candidates.
I’ll be watching on May 10, mainly because I haven’t seen the prior debates, but I hope it takes on a civil tone. I’ve been disappointed in the performance of the so-called “moderators” in the gubernatorial debates that I have witnessed (did not see the Danville debate). I expect 11th District Chair George Burke to run a tight ship and keep things on point.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 