Local political debate canceled
Organizers have made the call Tuesday to cancel this year's Candidates' Debate.
The Oct. 13 debate featuring six political races was organized by the Butler County Chamber of Commerce and the Butler Eagle. Butler County Community College and Armstrong were also partners for the event.
“This year has been a real challenge and coordinated efforts like this one have been disrupted the entire year,” said Jordan Grady, executive director of the county chamber.
According to Ron Vodenichar, publisher of the Butler Eagle, the call was difficult to make, but lack of participation left little reason to continue moving forward with the debate.
“At least one candidate from each of the House races would not have been able to participate due to conflicts, COVID-19 concerns, or in one case, a continued lack of interest in speaking to constituents,” Vodenichar said.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the debate was set to be live-streamed. The debates included races for House Districts 8, 10, 11 and 12 as well as Senate Districts 41 and 21.
Like past years, Armstrong was going to record the night of the debate and televise the event later.
“We attempted to pivot last second to provide a platform for all candidates to showcase their views and plans of attack; we just weren't able to make it happen,” Grady said. “We look forward to picking it back up next election cycle.”
