Yesterday Democratic State Senate candidate Emily Bjornberg of Lyme announced that she will appear at the Haddam Killingworth High School auditorium at 7:30 p.m. this evening for a public debate hosted by the Haddam Bulletin. The school is located at 95 Little City Road, Higganum, CT.
As of yesterday morning, Bjornberg’s Republican opponent, incumbent Senator Art Linares, would not commit to participate in tonight’sdebate, as moderators would not agree to provide him with questions in advance. The newspaper continues to solicit questions for the event from members of the public, which may be submitted by email to: [email protected].
Bjornberg stated, “Because the 33rd District is comprised of 12 towns in a large geographic area, local debates provide an invaluable opportunity for voters to get first-hand information from the candidates. A debate in which questions are provided in advance to the participants is not a debate so much as a scripted recital. Voters deserve more than just memorized soundbytes from their candidates. They deserve an authentic discussion of the issues with spontaneity and answers to tough questions.”
She continued, “The central and Northern regions of the 33rd Senate District have yet to see a Senate debate in this election that is open to all members of the public. I believe strongly that every community in this district deserves to hear a debate focused on the unique issues which affect their own town. I encourage Art Linares to participate in Haddam on Tuesday.”
The 33rd State Senate District includes the Town of Lyme along with an additional 11 towns as follows: Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Deep River, East Haddam, East Hampton, Essex, Haddam, Old Saybrook, Portland and Westbrook.
Late last week Linares’ campaign manager and brother, Ryan Linares, emailed the following list of demands to the debate moderators at the Haddam Bulletin (follow this link for full email exchange):
Thank you for your time today and hope you understand why we have to stand our ground on certain issues. With that said, unless the below criteria is not met (sic) we will not be able to participate…
3 Podiums
Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning
1 hour 15 minutes
5 questions in advance (Sunday morning)
1 rebuttal if necessary at the closer