John Faso is Dodging Debates
In one of the most closely watched congressional races in the country, the incumbent is dodging debates
In the NY-19 “toss-up” election, Republican incumbent John Faso is refusing to accept debates with two of the largest media outlets in our district.
Back in August, John Faso sent a letter (attached) to the Delgado family’s home, expressing his interest in holding debates, “in the interest of informing the voters” here in the district.
Spectrum News, a nonpartisan media organization that hosted a congressional debate here in 2016, invited Delgado to a debate in late October for candidates on the ballot polling at or above 5 percent in a nonpartisan, independent poll.
On June 27, the day after the Democratic primary election when it was clear who the candidates would be, public broadcasting station WMHT offered to host a live televised debate between John Faso and Antonio Delgado. The debate would reach most of the 19th District and would be WMHT’s sixth straight time presenting the event. Antonio Delgado accepted the offer to debate.
Despite issuing a challenge to us to participate in debates, John Faso has not accepted these offers.
“Faso will only debate on his own terms, just like he will only hold town halls on his own terms. He forgets that the job is not about him, it’s about the people,” said Delgado. “This is yet another cynical dodge from an absentee congressman who has repeatedly refused to address the issues that are critical to the people in our district. It’s abundantly clear why he is avoiding talking about these issues, because he can’t explain why he voted in favor of gutting healthcare protections for people here with pre-existing conditions, defunding Planned Parenthood after promising not to and increasing out-of-pocket medical costs.”
We have committed to hosting 11 town halls in all 11 counties here in NY19 – opportunities to engage with ALL of the people here and answer questions in a public forum.
We, along with many people in our district, eagerly await the opportunity to debate John Faso on the issues.
