Another wrinkle in the ongoing issues surround a possible televised debate for the Democratic Mayoral candidates in Rochester.
The Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce is holding a forum for all of the mayoral candidates, not just those in the September 12 primary. That forum is scheduled for September 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center.
Mayor Lovely Warren’s campaign this week issued a statement noting Warren’s recent health problems, she was hospitalized for several days due to an allergic reaction. And they said she would only be available for the September 7 Chamber event.
Voice of the Voter partners, including WXXI, the D&C, 13WHAM TV, along with News 8 and the League of Women Voters have been trying to schedule a debate among the Democratic mayoral candidates. That’s after two earlier debates had to be canceled, due to the mayor’s health problems.
In a statement released on Thursday, Chamber President Bob Duffy says his group plans to move forward with the forum as originally scheduled. But he says if the Democratic candidates want to hold a single-party debate on September 7, the Chamber would respect those wishes and would cancel its event to allow the Democratic candidates to make their own arrangements.
Here’s Duffy’s complete statement:
Duffy said, “When Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce began planning our September 7 Mayoral Candidates Employer Forum in April, we could not have anticipated the recent events that led to the cancellation or postponement of debates and forums hosted by other groups. The purpose of our forum is to give Rochester Chamber member businesses an opportunity to hear from all of the candidates appearing on the mayoral ballot regarding issues important to them, determined by a survey we distributed.
As a non-partisan organization, Rochester Chamber never intended our Mayoral Candidates Employer Forum to serve as a single-party debate. We plan to move forward with our forum as originally intended. However, should the Democratic candidates wish to hold a single-party debate on September 7, Rochester Chamber would respect those wishes and give up the date by cancelling our event with apologies to the other candidates. This would allow the Democratic candidates to make their own arrangements.”
Warren's campaign later issued a statement saying that it would accept an earlier proposal to hold a debate with News 8, WROC-TV and the League of Women Voters. That was one of the debates that had been canceled earlier.
