THE TWO DEMOCRATIC gubernatorial candidates continued to wrangle over debates on Thursday, with Attorney General Maura Healey agreeing to two debates after the convention in June and Sen. Sonia Chang-Diaz dismissing that response as a dodge.
Chang-Diaz called for three debates before the convention, but Healey said she would participate in two forums prior to the June 4 convention in Worcester and two televised debates afterward before the Democratic primary.
The forums are scheduled for April 19 and 27. The first is being hosted by two
Boston wards and moderated by GBH’s Callie Crossley; the second is focused on climate and the environment and is being sponsored by WBUR and the Environmental League of Massachusetts. At forums, the candidates typically appear separately and do not debate.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
“Maura has pledged to be the most aggressive governor in the country on climate, and we look forward to the opportunity to have the candidates together on stage answering detailed questions about these critical issues,” said Jason Burrell, Healey’s campaign manager.
Chang-Diaz’s campaign issued a statement saying “the arrogance of dodging debates is the kind of attitude that drives voters away from our party and from participation in the political process.” The campaign reiterated its call for three live, in-person moderated debates prior to the convention and noted Healey called for monthly debates when she first ran for attorney general in 2014.
“Debating is a time-honored tradition and essential to our democratic process,” the Chang-Diaz committee said. “While I have participated in many forums and look forward to joining the ones that the attorney general cited in her letter, they are not a replacement for debates. Our next Democratic nominee must not run away from the issues or their own promises.”
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