The third debate between Leslie Byrne, Gerry Connolly, Doug Denneny, and Lori Alexander will be broadcast LIVE tonight on Fairfax Public Access. It can be seen on channel 10 on Fairfax Cable, on channel 10 on Verizon FIOS, and for everyone outside the county, on the internet at http://easylink.playstream.com/winlive/insidescoop.wvx
The last debate (see summary) was solid but the candidates didn't mix it up much. Tune in tonight to see if the gloves finally come off in this one.
[UPDATE: Below the fold are the rules for the debate. It looks very much like the prior debate except times have been shortened to accommodate the 1 hour time limit.]
Debate Format
June 1 - 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Sponsored by the 11th CD Committee and Inside Scoop Virginia
Introductions/Welcome:
* George Burke, 11th CD Chair and Moderator
Opening Statements - 2 minutes per candidate
A lottery will be conducted to determine order.
Four slips of paper numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 will be drawn from a container to determine opening order.
The order will be reversed for the closing statements.
(10 minutes elapsed)
Questions -- 1 minute per candidate
Questions for the candidates will be gathered from the audience via email and calls before and during the debate. The moderator reserves the right to add questions to address key issues.
All four candidates will be expected to answer each question.
Candidates will answer first question in lottery order (2,3,4,1).
The next question will be answered in descending alphabetical order (3,4,1,2).
Each successive question will be handled in descending order (4,1,2,3, then 1,2,3,4, then 2,3,4,1, etc)). (3-4 Questions Before break at :27)
(3-4 Questions After break to :49)
Rebuttals on Questions (Four rebuttals per candidate - 30 seconds per candidate)
Each candidate will have the right to make four rebuttals during the course of the Questions Segment of the debate.
This means that candidates won't be able to or expected to rebut each others responses on each question.
If a candidate feels the need to rebut another candidate's response (or another candidate's rebuttal), they can use one of their four rebuttals to do so.
Each rebuttal will be limited to 30 seconds.
Once a candidate exhausts his or her four rebuttals, they are done with rebuttals.
If three of the four candidates exhaust all of their rebuttals, any three of the four candidates may ask the moderator to add one more rebuttal for all four candidates.
Closing Statements - 90 seconds (reverse order from opening statements)
* Each candidate will have 90 seconds to deliver his or her closing statement.
The order will be the reverse of the order for the opening statement.
Closing
* Short closing remarks from moderator. (7 minutes of closing statement)
Notes:
* This format should allow for six to eight questions during the debate.
Questions will be screened for fairness to all candidates involved.
No questions will include personal attacks on any individual candidates (although candidates have the right to go after each other in their answers and rebuttals as they see fit).
Many other political figures have also appeared on the show and, you may recall, we hosted the only real debate in the state Senate race last fall between Janet Oleszek and Ken Cuccinelli.
While I may be the "face" of the program as host, the fact is that Jim Southworth, Rich Morani, Mary Hartzler, Ron England, Eric Grim of RK, Jim Giraldi, Sid Sachs, and many others you may not know by name are the "heart" of the show. Although they are all volunteers (and Democrats), they spend countless hours preparing for these productions and then direct, produce and man the cameras, the control booth, the teleprompter, the graphics, the phones, the internet broadcast connection, and all of the other technical gizmos necessary to make sure the final product is a professional program.
It's easy to find a host who likes to hear himself talk. It's a lot harder to find volunteers with the technical skills (or those willing to learn them) to produce an hour-long TV show.
The Inside Scoop volunteer staff members are the unsung heroes of the television program and I felt it was important to give them the kudos they deserve. Because of their dedication and hard work, I am confident we will have an informative and interesting show this evening.
-- George Burke, Chair
11th CD Democratic Committee
Democratic Party of Virginia
Host, Inside Scoop Virginia
Jim Southworth