Barrett Withdraws From MCLA Mayoral Debate
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A mayoral debate planned for Sept. Oct. 19 at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has been canceled after candidate John Barrett III withdrew.
Barrett, former mayor of the city for 26 years, is attempting to return to the corner office in November against three-term incumbent Richard Alcombright.
The debate was proposed and organized by a state and local politics class being taught by J. Benjamin Taylor, an assistant professor of political science, and was being sponsored by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce.
It was also going to include three local journalists, at the request of the candidates, and was expected to run about an hour for the actual debate time, with added time for introductions, questions and closing statements. Taylor said the class would reach out to the dozen council candidates to see if they were interested participating in a forum instead.
Barrett informed Taylor on Thursday night after being provided with the detailed debate handbook developed by the students that included likely question topics.
In a statement on his Facebook page, Barrett said he "found the parameters of the debate to be much too restrictive.
"For example, the decision was made by the panel not to include any questions or discussion regarding the hospital or its future."
The students had identified subjects under economic development, community development and youth/education/recreation that included topics such as the Mohawk Theater, crime and blight, the public school system and MCLA-community collaborations.
It had been decided not to include health care and the closure of North Adams Regional Hospital because of the debate held prior to the preliminary election that focused solely on that issue. That debate was also recorded by Northern Berkshire Community Television.
Alcombright, who ousted Barrett six years ago, said he was "disappointed" in Barrett's refusal to debate.
"However, I am not surprised by his actions since he has resisted the debate format from the beginning," he said. "I have made every effort through this student-driven process to accommodate him, agreeing to a change of date and a change of panel to include members of the media. By pulling out, he has taken away a valuable learning experience for the MCLA students as well as an informative session for the citizens and voters of this city."
At this point, the only scheduled debate will be on WNAW radio on
Barrett proposed working with local media to develop "a fair and unbiased debate" and take questions from the audience. He also suggested "we debate without any notes or related material." Alcombright frequently uses notes in debates, as did his last two challengers.
"His insinuation that I wasn't willing to debate him couldn't be further from the truth," Barrett wrote of Alcombright. "I want very much to debate him but I want it to be a debate that is beneficial to the voters of North Adams so they can see the difference between the two of us."
Alcombright intimated that Barrett was trying to duck questions about his tenure by dictating debate conditions.
"For 26 years, Mr. Barrett had attempted to dictate the terms and conditions of life in this city, and these habits continue today with his insistence on manipulating and controlling all aspects of this debate," he wrote.
Tags: debate, election 2015,
