We received your campaign’s email last week regarding debates in our Democratic AG primary.  Dan, I believed that our campaigns where engaged in honest discussion about the debate process, so I was a bit surprised by the email you sent to us and the press corps calling for 11 debates in the final month of the campaign – a number that you know is unrealistic and smacks of a political stunt.

Let me be clear, we should have debates before the August 24th primary, but let’s start this discussion on a reasonable timetable given the normal hectic pace of the closing weeks of a statewide campaign.

Since we both entered the race in 2009, we have had one structured debate led by Susan MacManus and numerous joint appearances around the State – most recently at Tiger Bay in Tampa.  Yet I believe in the closing weeks of the campaign, we should endeavor to work on our joint schedules to find additional opportunities to meet and debate the issues.  I think that is a common sense approach. 

Having just spent the end of last week in Pensacola, I continue to hear stories of the devastation and disruption of lives due to the BP oil catastrophe.  The next Attorney General will probably spend the better part of this decade involved in litigation of the state versus BP, Halliburton and other parties who might share liability for this disaster.  Therefore, as we work together to agree on our debate schedule, I want to insist that at least one of the debates be held there so the citizens of that region can hear our plans for fighting for them as their Attorney General.

Since you and I are both from Southeast Florida and have spent our careers in that area, I would also recommend that we do another debate in the Tampa Bay or Orlando region – where neither one of us is well known. 

I would be happy to work on the details with you in person or, if necessary, let our two campaigns sit down in person to negotiate the details, as most other statewide campaigns normally do.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,