State Senate candidate for District 2, Amy Wasyluka, D, and her campaign have made several attempts to contact her opposing candidate, Tom Butler, R, to organize a debate. Butler is currently refusing to debate Wasyluka.
On Sept. 10, Wasyluka sent the following email to Butler’s campaign:
“Dear Tom,
It was good to see you the other night at Sheriff Blakely’s Political Rally.
I would love to give the voters of District 2 the opportunity to hear from both of their state senate candidates prior to the election, and so I wanted to reach out to you to see if you would agree to a debate. If so, we would be happy to work with you to find a neutral third party to host it here in our district.
I hope that you are having a good week, & I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Amy Wasyluka”
Butler decided not to respond to the email, which prompted Wasyluka to make an in-person visit to Butler on Friday, Sept. 14. and ask him face-to-face for a debate. Butler indicated that he did not want to debate her because, “it would help Ms. Wasyluka’s campaign.”
The Wasyluka campaign released the following statement in response to Tom Butler’s lack of willingness to debate and the importance of electoral debates.
“The Wasyluka campaign believes debates are an essential part of our democracy and part of a candidate’s duty to the voters. We believe that party label alone shouldn’t earn a vote, but that passion, commitment to the issues, and a desire to serve the public should.
The Wasyluka campaign likewise believes debates are not tools to help a particular candidate or campaign, but rather they serve as an opportunity to demonstrate these qualities and to discuss the issues in order to provide the voters with the information they require to choose the candidate who they believe will best represent them in Montgomery.
The Wasyluka campaign remains open to participating in a neutral, public debate should Mr. Butler change his mind.”
Wasyluka and Butler will face each other in the fall general election.
