Sept 20 – Recently, one or both challengers in the 26th Middlesex State Representative race proposed the idea of a series of five debates between now and the November election. To this, State Representative Tim Toomey offers the following very interesting proposal:
Dear Mr. Vasconcelos and Mr. Connolly,
Thank you for reaching out and proposing a series of debates. With the election just 48 days away, I think it is important that as many of our neighbors as possible can watch our debate.
To maximize the number of residents who can see the debate, and rather than trying to squeeze five debates into fewer than seven weeks, I propose a single, open-ended, unmoderated, televised debate with no time limits. In the past, I have partaken in many debates and, invariably, when the debates have ended there are always important issues left by the wayside. What I’m suggesting is, as far as I know, unprecedented in politics. Let’s go in front of the cameras and discuss all the issues until there is nothing left to talk about.
I am confident that Somerville Community Access Television and or Cambridge Community Television would be willing to air and rerun our debate, and I’m also willing to stream the debate live on my campaign website. With no moderator, we will have the opportunity to speak directly with one another and to ask tough questions about issues facing our district. With a televised audience and replays online, we’ll help as many of our neighbors as possible to get informed and decide for themselves.
I welcome any suggestions you might have about the format of our debate, and I look forward to your response.
Best wishes,
Timothy J. Toomey, Jr.
State Representative, 26th Middlesex District