When Will Rick Debate?

Letter to Rick Scott about when he will Debate

June 21, 2010

Ms. Susan Wiles
Campaign Manager, Rick Scott for Governor
300 S.E. 2^nd Street, Suite 850
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Dear Ms. Wiles,

Thank you for your letter. As you know, Attorney General Bill McCollum looks forward to debating Mr. Scott in advance of Florida’s August 24th Republican gubernatorial primary. With just more than two months until the primary, educating voters on the records and positions of candidates for our state’s highest office is critical – especially when Mr. Scott continues to distort Bill McCollum’s record through his costly paid media campaign.

We believe your proposal of one debate a week in the last four weeks of the primary campaign is inadequate. It is imperative to begin the candidate education process immediately. We propose a minimum of five debates before the primary, with the first taking place before July 1st, 2010.

The McCollum for Governor Campaign has accepted the first primary debate invitation we have received from a major Florida media affiliate – WTVT, the Fox affiliate in Tampa. The station is willing to host a debate in the Tampa Bay area and partner with other organizations to host the event, including the Pinellas Patriots, a group making a similar request. We are prepared to facilitate this event in short order and hope you agree to join us on the evening of Monday, June 28^th, 2010.

Moreover, while Mr. Scott has offered empty platitudes on important issues like immigration and healthcare, he has failed to put forth any real solutions for our state’s challenges. We propose at least one of the five debates centers exclusively on rebuilding Florida’s economy, as we are facing record unemployment with 1.1 million of our residents out of work. We agree the Florida Chamber of Commerce would be an appropriate host and organizing entity for this conversation. We welcome a genuine exchange of ideas in this area as Attorney General McCollum is the only candidate on either side of the aisle who has put forth a tangible roadmap for Florida’s future.

I have copied WTVT Planning Manager Steve Fenske and Pinellas Patriots’ chair Marie Moran on this letter so we can move forward with planning our first upcoming debate.

We look forward to your response.

Matt Williams, Campaign Manager

Cc: Steve Fenske, WTVT Planning Manager
Cc: Marie Moran, Pinellas Patriots