The two main candidates for governor - Democrat Dannel Malloy and Republican Tom Foley - were locked in their own debate Tuesday over how many debates there should be over the next two months.
Malloy has agreed to 19 debates and forums from every organization that has asked in the fall campaign. Foley, though, has agreed to four debates on the local Connecticut affiliates of the major television networks - CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox.
"He seems to have a pretty broad definition of a debate,'' Foley said, adding that the forums around the state by various interest groups should be in a separate category. "We don't consider those to be debates.''
"If you can't get your point across in three or four debates, you might have to change your message,'' Foley said in an interview.
The clash Tuesday began with a complaint by Malloy that Foley was avoiding the one-on-one matches.
"Apparently, he wants to limit the number of debates to four,'' Malloy said. "I just don't understand that. I've agreed to do every debate that's been put on the table for one simple reason: I have a fundamental belief that voters should hear as much as possible from both candidates about our ideas, our experience, and our vision. What better way to do that than standing right next to one another and answering the same questions?''
Foley campaign officials said they were stunned by Malloy's statement Tuesday, saying they never heard back from him about arranging the details of any of the debates. Foley's campaign manager, Justin Clark, said he hopes the candidates can talk about the issues "rather than a phony debate about debates'' that is now occurring.
"We know that career politicians like to talk and like an audience, but four televised debates should be plenty of time for Dannel Malloy to explain why Stamford lost 13,000 jobs from 2000-2009, why he raised Stamford's taxes every year he was in office, why Stamford's debt rose over 200 percent to more than $340 million while he was mayor, and why only 37 percent of Stamford's public school students perform at grade level,'' Clark said in an e-mail.
Roy Occhiogrosso, the chief strategist for Malloy, said that it is Foley who is going to need more time to debate.
"Tom Foley will need a lot more than four debates to explain how he bought a company, destroyed it, drove it into bankruptcy and ruined people's lives,'' Occhiogrosso said, referring to Foley's former ownership of The Bibb Company in Georgia. Foley has said that the Bibb mill did not close until after he had relinquished control of the company, but the problems at the Bibb became a major issue in the Republican primary in July and August.
"Dan Malloy would love to spend a lot more than four debates talking about the city of Stamford,'' Occhiogrosso said.
Regardless of whether Foley attends, Malloy intends to be at all 19 debates and forums, Occhiogrosso said.
The largest audiences for the head-to-head battles will be the four televised debates. The first will be on Tuesday, October 5 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the 907-seat Belding Theatre at the Bushnell Center For The Performing Arts in Hartford. It will be televised live on Fox Connecticut in a contest that is co-sponsored by The Hartford Courant. Carl Cameron, who is known nationally as the chief political correspondent for the Fox News Channel, will serve as the moderator.