Funny how the Peekskill Republican candidates, and Peekskill Republican Chairman Vinnie Vesce, are playing this debate thing. They were all over town talking about the Democratic candidates being afraid to debate. The conventional political wisdom is that incumbents avoid debates. The Republicans, when they were in power but feeling the challenge from a revived Democratic City Committee, twisted themselves into pretzels trying to justify their reluctance to debate. And it was the same story that Vinnie and Frank are telling now in tag team style: I didn’t get your letter, you sent it to the wrong person, we’ll debate but only on our terms, the League of Women Voters (the most widely respected and nonpartisan group in the nation when it comes to debate moderation) is unacceptable.
Anyone in Peekskill who’s been paying attention since 2001, when Drew Claxton became the first Democrat elected to our city’s government in 20 years, knows that these same ploys have been tried by the Republican City Committee over and over again. I remember one year when the League folks threw up their hands and walked away because of the games city Republicans were playing. So did our Chamber of Commerce. Vinnie was negotiating the details for his party, and a deal seemed very close to completion. Then suddenly John Testa inserted himself (no protest, of course, from tag-team Vinnie) and blew up the deal. That year Peekskill voters (“the people” about whom Frank pretends to be so concerned) witnessed a debate at the Paramount in which all Democratic candidates participated. But two Republican candidates didn’t show. Instead, they sent well-rehearsed, well art-directed videos. Surprised everyone except the Republicans, and the moderator. So there the absent Republican candidates were, 20 feet tall on the big silver screen, while the folks that showed up to debate in real time were made to look small.
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Even with that advantage, no Republican won. “The people” of Peekskill are too smart to vote for folks who try so very hard to set up an anything-but–level playing field.
Stop the games, Frank. You and your running mates need to come out and play on an honest, level field for the sake of “the people” about whom you claim to care.
