The following is an excerpt from an email I received yesterday from David Garcia’s campaign for Superintendent of Public Education, one of the top five elected offices in the State.
Tomorrow evening is the first public debate for Arizona’s state superintendent candidates. (get the details here)
We think this is a big deal. After all, the debate is being hosted by the Arizona PTA, the statewide organization that connects all of Arizona’s local parent-teacher associations. And it’s being moderated by Cathryn Creno, a senior news reporter with The Arizona Republic.
David will be there, ready to answer questions from the very people most concerned with the future of our schools… parents.
But we just learned our current Superintendent, John Huppenthal, won’t attend.
This is the third debate Mr. Huppenthal has agreed to participate in only to back out at the last minute.
Incumbents have a huge advantage in debates, so it naturally makes you wonder when you see one ducking like this.
Garcia appears to be a solid candidate, while Huppenthal appears ethically challenged, at best. But still, ducking debates as an incumbent?
The last thing Superintendent Huppenthal wants is to be in a situation where he cannot control the questions or the answers. That is why he is ducking the debates.