BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Chabot
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Qualls
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After weeks of negotiations, 1st Congressional District candidates Steve Chabot and Roxanne Qualls have agreed to four debates this fall.
The Qualls campaign had originally proposed four debates on specific topics, but, in the end, agreed to the Chabot campaign's insistence that no limits be placed on debate issues.
Mr. Chabot's campaign released a statement Friday saying it viewed the debates as an opportunity to "underscore the huge differences between Steve Chabot's common-sense values and Roxanne Qualls' extreme liberal positions."
Ms. Qualls' campaign countered with a statement saying Ms. Qualls would "put people's interests above ideological principles" and said "Mr. Chabot is clearly not looking out for us, and debates will clearly show that."
The debate over the debates between the campaigns started in February, right after the Democratic mayor of Cincinnati announced she would challenge Mr. Chabot, the incumbent Republican, for the 1st District seat.
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IF YOU GO
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Tentative schedule for debates:
Sunday, Sept. 27 at the Cheviot Field House (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday Oct. 13 at the Delhi Senior Center (7:30 p.m.)
Tuesday, Oct. 20 or 27 at the University of Cincinnati Institute for Learning and Retirement (2:30 p.m.)
Thursday, Oct. 22 at the studios of WVXU (7:30 p.m.)
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Ms. Qualls' entry into the race turned the 1st District contest into one of the most closely watched congressional elections in the country.
Mr. Chabot immediately issued a challenge to Ms. Qualls to debate him publicly before the fall campaign -- an unusual step for an incumbent candidate. Ms. Qualls declined, saying she would debate her opponent in the fall.
This month, the Qualls campaign proposed four October debates on specific topics -- education and children; economic development, infrastructure and environment; wages and income; and health care and retirement security.
But the Chabot campaign balked, saying it did not want any limits on what issues could be raised.
Ms. Jones and Qualls campaign manager Susan Thomas began negotiations two weeks ago on the number, location and format of debates.
Friday, they announced that the four debates would take place at the Cheviot Field House, the Delhi Senior Center, the studios of radio station WVXU and at the University of Cincinnati's Institute of Learning and Retirement. The debates will be open to the public. In the negotiations, the candidates agreed to:
Six-minute opening statements and three-minute closing statements. Two rounds of questions from a panel of five journalists.
An opportunity for audience members to submit written questions.
