July 28, 2010

Brickley, Zydanowicz clash on debate

Press release from congressional hopeful Ann Brickley of Wethersfield, the GOP's endorsed candidate in the 1st District:
Brickley Expresses Disappointment With Zydanowicz’s Rejection of Invitation to Participate in First Congressional Primary Debate
Zydanowicz cites “scheduling conflicts” as reason for declining 30 to 40-minute debate hosted by the League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford
WETHERSFIELD, CT (July 26, 2010) – Ann Brickley, the Republican-endorsed candidate for the First Congressional District, expressed disappointment that her Republican primary challenger has declined to participate in a 30 to 40-minute debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford that would have been held in the Legislative Chambers of the West Hartford Town Hall on Tuesday, July 27th at 12:30 p.m. Mr. Zydanowicz states that he was unable to change his schedule to accommodate the debate and declined the invitation.
“While both Mark and I are currently campaigning throughout the First District and our schedules can be incredibly hectic, I believe that we owe it to the voters of the First Congressional District to have an open and extensive exchange of ideas on the key issues,” Brickley said. With so many competitive and well-publicized political campaigns taking place this year, it has been challenging for both of our campaigns to receive a great deal of media coverage. This situation makes it more difficult for voters to learn a great deal about our views and backgrounds.
The Greater Hartford League had made arrangements to have the debate taped by West Hartford Cable Television and the Connecticut Television Network had also planned on sending a television crew to tape the event so it could be aired in various communities throughout the First Congressional District. The Brickley campaign is attempting to see if another more convenient date and location can be found prior to the August 10th primary.
Here is the response that Zydanowicz, who is challenging Brickley for the right to take on U.S. Rep. John Larson in November, posted on Facebook: Apparently my opponent put out a press release that I would not debate her. This is not true; we debated on live for 12 minuets on NBC at the 5:30 news last week. Regarding the League of Women Voters debate; I received “5 business hours” notice. They contacted me late Friday and wanted an answer 1st thing Monday morning. I previously scheduled a commercial shoot and could not accommodate a re-shoot. If my opponent can not plan properly for something as simple as a debate how can we send her to congress?
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Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

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