ITHACA COMMUNITY RADIO ANNOUNCES DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY DEBATE, SEPTEMBER 2Ithaca, NY, August 29, 2003 – Ithaca Community Radio, known to the Ithaca area for broadcasting WEOS into Ithaca on 88.1FM, announced today they will host a debate for the Democratic Party primary race for mayor on Tuesday, September 2. The three candidates running for the Democratic nomination include community and organizational development consultant Eric Lerner, Carolyn Peterson, a current Common Council Alderwoman, and Ithaca Police Lieutenant Beau Saul.”There are a lot of community groups hosting the candidates in one way or another, but we saw a lack of a forum that covers more than just special interests. As a community organization, the ICR board saw it as an important task to take on a more formal debate and broadcast it to the community to help them in their choices,” says ICR Board member and co-producer of the Ithaca RadioHour, Jeff Kirby.When questioned about the notable lack of Ithaca activist, Paul Glover, the Green Party’s candidate for mayor, Kirby responds, “We aren’t trying to be exclusionary. In fact, we initially wanted Paul in the debate, but it didn’t make sense to hold a debate a week prior to the Democratic primary and include a candidate from another party.” He noted that Ithaca Community Radio will hold a general mayoral debate prior to November 4 to which all candidates still in the race will be invited.The debate will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church on the corner of Aurora St. and Buffalo St. from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM and will be broadcast live on WEOS and Ithaca Community Radio. Admission is free and open to the public, but seating is limited on a first-come first-served basis. Points for debate may be submitted in advance to [email protected] more information on the debate, contact Jeff Kirby at 273-3209. Ithaca Community Radio can be reached via its website, www.ithacaradio.org.
