Libertarian candidate Eric Sundwall and Democrat Scott Murphy will participate in the debate 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at WMHT sponsored by the PBS station and the Times Union. Jim Tedisco will not be there. Instead, he's hosting a "people's town hall" at his campaign HQ in Halfmoon. He will speak to voters in person and respond to questions on Facebook and on the phone.
Barry Stoner, the senior vice-president and chief content officer at WMHT and Times Union editor Rex Smith decided yesterday to invite Sundwall to the debate after they decided the third party candidate met what Smith said was "the spirit" of the participation criteria. He is campaigning earnestly, he is talking about the issues, and most notably, he won a spot on the ballot - something he couldn't do when he last ran for the office in 2006. Also, Sundwall surfaced on the latest Siena poll with 1 percent of those polled saying they will vote for him - 2 percent of independents. An internal Democratic poll found 4 percent of the 400 people polled would vote for Sundwall. Considering all these factors, Smith said, it wouldn't be right to exclude him.
Go, Eric!
Although I'm not in your district, but I know quite a few people in the district who are interested, and the signed the petition to get you on the ballot.
We certainly need some new blood. I look forward to watching tonight. I just wish I was in the 20th.
All the best!
Great job tonight Eric. Even though (and i timed it) they gave Scott Murphy approximately 50% more time on each and every answer, you got your message out!
You gave them direct answers versus the political answers that everyone is used to.