The Debates

I'm trying to piece together a coherent picture of what happened yesterday with the debate.

First the debate was postponed. Here's Boren from the Trib:

KDKA-TV asked Ravenstahl to postpone a debate set for Wednesday because of the shootings. The mayor told the station he does not have time to reschedule before the May 19 Democratic primary.

And a few paragraphs later:

Anne Linaberger, KDKA-TV's acting news director, said the decision to seek a postponement was based on "logistical issues" with planning a debate so soon after producing eight hours of live coverage of the officers' memorial service.

"We also questioned the appropriateness of debating important and pressing city issues without putting some time between the coverage of this emotional story and the debate. It was our intention to postpone the debate and reschedule it, not to cancel it," Linaberger said.

Then the charges and counter charges flew. Here's McNulty and Lord from the P-G:

The Ravenstahl campaign put out word that it had no time to reschedule the KDKA forum before the May 19 primary, setting off Mr. Dowd.

He called the Ravenstahl announcement "ridiculous. I have a busy schedule. I have five children. My wife has a job. I have a job. Who's he kidding that he doesn't have enough time? ... We have a city at the tipping point in our history."

His campaign followed with a statement alleging the mayor was using the killings of three officers in Stanton Heights as an excuse.

"That a mayor who has never run in a contested primary is using last week's tragedy to avoid a discussion about public safety and other critical issues facing our city is an absolute outrage," he said in the statement.

"Luke Ravenstahl has been absent time and time again: absent from meetings on the Hill District, absent from discussions on critical policy issues, absent from important decision about circumventions of the zoning and permitting policies. ... Amidst a citywide increase in gun violence, a national economic crisis and serious questions about ethics in the mayor's office, Luke Ravenstahl must make time to debate his mayoral challengers."

Then the Mayor shot back:

In a letter to KDKA, Mr. Ravenstahl said he was disappointed the station canceled the debate without consulting him, and that he would seek a rebuke of Mr. Dowd from the Greater Pittsburgh League of Women Voters for violating a clean campaign vow.

That vow was "something Pat must have forgot in his insatiable quest for another political office," he wrote.

"But more to the point: How dare he use last week's tragedy for political purposes? How dare he even bring it up at a time like this? I find his comments disgusting, offensive and completely out of line. Pittsburgh deserves an apology. Shame on you, Patrick."

From Boren:

Ravenstahl campaign spokesman Paul McKrell criticized Dowd for attacking the mayor and demanded an apology on behalf of the families of the fallen police officers.

"It is absolutely disgusting for anybody to use the deaths of three Pittsburgh police officers this way, and he needs to apologize to their families," McKrell said about Dowd.

Let's not forget that there are THREE Democrats to discuss here. We'd be remiss if we omitted Attorney Carmen Robinson. From the P-G:

Ms. Robinson, a Hill District attorney and former Pittsburgh police sergeant, said she would gladly participate in a rescheduled debate, but not if it would force her to cancel forums she already has committed to with the African American Chamber of Commerce, the Pittsburgh Urban Magnet Project and a law enforcement group.

She said KDKA has treated her scheduling conflicts, some of them driven by her work as an attorney, as less important than those of her two rivals, who she called "the two divas. I'm the woman in the race, but I call them the two divas."

There should be debates. LOTS of debates. I am told by a very reliable source that O'Connor, Lamb and Peduto debated over 35 times - 8 of them televised. The Mayor should be able to find the time.

The candidates' websites (listed alphabetically by first name of the candidate):

Carmen L Robinson For Mayor
Luke Ravenstal For Mayor
Patrick Dowd For Mayor