MACON, Ga. — "Since the announcement of a runoff in June, my opponent has had multiple occasions and has refused to debate and have forums," Mayoral candidate Cliffard Whitby said during a press conference last week.
Last Thursday, alleged his opponent Lester Miller wouldn't participate in any debates or forums. Wanya Reese set out to verify if this is true or not.
Both candidates for Bibb County mayor haven't participated in any debates or forums since the June Primary Election, but Whitby says that is because his opponent won't debate him. We set out to verify if Whitby's claim is true. For the answer, I spoke with a list of nonpartisan organizations and show hosts both candidates had correspondence with.
"We are on the threshold of the most important mayoral election in a generation," Whitby said during a press conference.
His opponent argues that he is open to any debate or forum. "The fact that this is simply not true, we have not avoided any debates, we haven't refused to attend any debates," Miller said.
For the answer, I reached out to Claire Cox, President of a Central Georgia Group called Georgia Women, "Conversations We Need to Have," and the Absolutely Al Show. Cox says her group invited both candidates to debate for the Mayoral Runoff Race.
Cox says her group invited both candidates to a debate for the mayoral runoff race. Whitby accepted while Miller asked for a different date due to a family medical problem, but the coalition says after they offered a new date Miller's campaign said the deadline to respond was too short and they never gave an answer, so the group decided not to hold a mayoral debate.
Zack Williams, host of "Conversations We Need to Have," says Whitby agreed to debate on his platform. Williams says he reached out to Miller's campaign on June 27th. Over Facebook, Williams says the campaign manager sent him a list of questions. He says he responded but never got a Yes or No answer from the Miller campaign.
Finally, the Absolutely Al Show hosted by Allison Randall Berewa says they also offered the two candidates a forum. She says Whitby accepted, but Miller never gave a yes or no answer.
So we verified that three different groups tried to set up debates or the discussions but did not get a clear response from the Miller campaign.
"It's pretty clear to me and to our campaign that Mister Miller is not looking to have honest open discussions and debates," Whitby said in response to our story.
Now there has been a development since Whitby's news conference. 13WMAZ invited Miller and Whitby to a debate the week before the runoff. Both men have accepted and Miller said yes within about 20 minutes.
We did not speak to Lester Miller on camera but his campaign did send us this response: The Miller campaign is pleased to announce that we will participate in two debates. Both will be in August, sponsored by reputable, neutral, long-established local media outlets. While we have had several requests from other groups or individuals, we confirmed these two debates to reach the most voters so they can learn more about my plans to make Macon safer, stronger and more prosperous.
I have not declined any formal request for a debate during this runoff period. I was not available on July 20th for the Middle Georgia Votes Coalition, because an immediate family member is having open heart surgery on that date. This group then decided not to move forward with their debate.
For the last two years, I have talked with voters daily and have participated in six forums. I look forward to continuing to talk directly with voters and to the upcoming debates where I intend to hold my opponent fully accountable for his record of corruption.
Statement from Zack Williams of "Conversations We Need to Have": As a nonpartisan platform, “Conversations We Need to Have” presented equal opportunity to both campaigns to participate in a debate. As communicated to both campaigns; the debate would have involved the input of both campaigns. The invitation still remains open to both candidates, as it is important for the city of Macon and its citizens to have multiple platforms to assess our mayoral candidates and their policies.
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