Massachusetts Democracy works at 80% in 2006

The consortium which will present five debates on the Governor's race this year.

Only the Republican candidate refuses to first debate
Gabrieli, Mihos, Patrick & Reilly on NECN & WBUR, Healey demurs

Four of the five major candidates for Governor – Chris Gabrieli, Christy Mihos, Deval Patrick and Attorney General Tom Reilly – will meet at 7pm on May 18th for a debate focused on jobs, the economy and the cost of living in Massachusetts. Yarmouth's Independent Christy Mihos will spar with the three Democrats seeking thir party's nomination.

“This is an opportunity to get beyond sound bytes and engage the candidates on the issues – among the most important ones facing our state.” -
Martin Baron, editor of The Boston Globe

The debate will be held at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge. It will air live on New England Cable News (NECN Channel 8 on Cape Cod) and WBUR 90.9 and will be moderated by NECN’s R.D. Sahl. This debate marks the first live broadcast debate of the campaign season.

WBUR is the Boston University National Public Radio (NPR) station in Boston. WBUR also owns and operates three similcast stations on Cape Cod, WBUR-AM, 1240 in West Yarmouth, WCCT-FM, 90.3 in Harwich, and WSDH, 91.5 in Sandwich.

Healey opts out, let the games begin

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the Republican nominated last weekend at the GOP Convention in Lowell, declined to participate.

The debate marks the official start of the biennial election frenzy in the Bay State where politics is among the public's most discussed topics. This is, after all, the only state which did not vote for Richard Nixon.

The consortium which put together these debates had to come up with a rational for selecting whom to invite because of various state and federal laws.

Since no candidates are officially on the ballot before next fall's primaries, the consortium used what they call "the criteria of political viability" which they defined as name recognition, evidence of electoral support, and ability to raise funds, to pick which candidates to invite to the May 18th debate.

Five debates planned, Cost of Living leads off

Ian Bowles, President of MassINC said, “Cost of living has emerged as a central challenge for the Commonwealth. It is impacting our ability to attract and retain the most skilled workforce in the nation. We thought it was important to hear from the candidates about this critical set of issues early in the political season.”

“This is an opportunity to get beyond sound bytes and engage the candidates on the issues – among the most important ones facing our state,” said Martin Baron, editor of The Boston Globe. “We are pleased to work with the candidates and our outstanding partners in making this debate possible.”

The consortium members include The Boston Globe, the Kennedy School of Government, The Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth (MassINC), New England Cable News and WBUR.

The panel of journalists will be: Ken Cooper of the Kennedy School, Scott Helman of The Boston Globe, Robert Keough, editor of CommonWealth magazine, Alison King of NECN, and Bob Oakes of WBUR 90.9. 

Readers are encouraged to make their comments below.