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Candidate debates set for 2006

The four prime-time debates will showcase six candidates for governor and the U.S. Senate.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published November 22, 2005

TALLAHASSEE - Florida voters will pick a new governor next year for the first time in nearly a decade, and a new series of TV debates has been planned to help them make up their minds.

The Florida Press Association, public broadcasters and the civic group Leadership Florida will join forces to produce four prime-time one-hour debates, showcasing the candidates for governor and U.S. Senate. The forums will be carried live on public radio and the Internet and offered free for rebroadcast on commercial stations and cable TV systems.

"There has never been a Florida debate partnership this broad, diverse, nonpartisan and dedicated to enhancing voter education," said Tampa Tribune publisher Gil Thelen, the Florida Press Association's debate organizer.

Thelen announced the debates Monday with Sandra Cesaretti Ray, chairman of the Florida Public Broadcasting Service and manager of WSRE-Ch. 23 in Pensacola, and Ron Sachs, a Tallahassee public relations executive and chairman of Leadership Florida, a Florida Chamber of Commerce group that seeks to develop new leaders.

"The outcome is so important that already there's intense national interest in what changes may be coming in Florida's political landscape," Sachs said. "Most Floridians are going to be looking for a lot of help."

Early voter surveys in the race for governor suggest competitive races in both parties. However, polls taken this early are often dismissed by political experts because they are largely measures of candidates' name recognition.

The campaign for Senate is not so suspenseful at this early juncture, with incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson holding commanding poll leads over Republican U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris - 24 points in the latest Quinnipiac University poll released last week.

Florida has 10.5-million voters, nearly 1.8-million of them added to the rolls since 2000. The increase includes 240,000 new voters in the five-county Tampa Bay region.

The debates are a new effort to engage more voters to participate in the political process. Organizers stressed that their new coalition is in addition to other long-standing political debate partnerships, such as those involving Florida's NBC affiliates.

Gov. Jeb Bush, elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term. On Sept. 5, 2006, Republican and Democratic voters will nominate candidates to succeed him.

Debates on successive nights the week of Aug. 21 are expected to feature the four currently leading candidates for governor: Republicans Charlie Crist and Tom Gallagher and Democrats Jim Davis and Rod Smith. After the primary, the nominees are to debate each other the week of Oct. 23, and the U.S. Senate candidates, expected to be Harris and Nelson, are to debate the week of Oct. 16.

Sachs said all six candidates were sent letters inviting them to take part and all expressed "a strong intent to participate."

Three organizations have agreed to underwrite the cost of producing the forums: the Florida League of Cities, Florida Power & Light and AARP.

"People age 50-plus have a very strong interest in who's going to be governor and who's going to be serving in the United States Senate," said AARP spokesman Dave Bruns. "There are untold numbers of issues that are going to affect older people in Florida."

The two final debates in October will be held in the studios of public TV stations, but other sites have not been chosen. The ground rules, moderators, panelists and level of audience participation, including questions from voters, will be worked out later.

Thelen said Florida newspapers will provide free advertising space to promote the debates. The series is titled Decision 2006: Before You Vote.

--Times researcher Tara Pixley contributed to this report. Steve Bousquet can be reached at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified November 22, 2005, 02:15:27]