Final Ruberto, Bianchi Debate Moved to Friday

Staff reports
iBerkshires
05:29PM / Wednesday, October 28, 2009

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Daniel L. Bianchi	James M. Ruberto

Update: Changed again!! Now the debate will take place in Berkshire Community College's K-111 theater at 5 p.m.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The final mayoral debate will go on — but not without some sniping between the Bianchi and Berkshire Chamber camps.

The debate between incumbent James M. Ruberto and challenger Daniel L. Bianchi has been changed to Friday, Oct. 30, at 5 p.m. at the Pittsfield Community Television studios. It is being sponsored by the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce and "Talk Berkshires" on WBRK with support from Berkshire Money Management.

The forum on business-related topics was to be held Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza and telecast live on PCTV before an audience.

Bianchi, however, declined to participate on Tuesday, citing a previous engagement. He accused the chamber of refusing to consider other dates; chamber officials responded that over the several weeks since the debate's announcement, they had offered different times and believed the Bianchi campaign had been working to clear his schedule.

In a statement, Bianchi blasted the chamber for showing "no flexibility" in changing the date, saying his campaign had invited the Berkshire Chamber to participate in an Oct. 13 debate on WBRK.

"When my campaign informed the chamber of my schedule, the Chamber and Sherman Baldwin of WBRK said that they could not switch the date because of scheduling with PCTV," wrote Bianchi. "I received confirmation from PCTV last evening that they were never contacted with any alternative dates to switch the Chamber debate even though these dates were presented to the Chamber a month in advance. I think this purposeful attempt to mislead the citizens of Pittsfield is inexcusable and I suggest the mayor debates me this Friday."

Chamber officials said they had not had a "clear message from the Bianchi campaign" until Tuesday, when he formally declined to attend.

"We had hoped for a large debate with a strong public showing in the audience but believe, regardless of time or location, it is critical that the issues of the business community in Pittsfield are debated," said Michael Supranowicz, president and CEO of the Berkshire Chamber. "While this date change is not convenient for the chamber as we already have an event planned for Friday evening, we also recognize that the voters in Pittsfield must have the opportunity to hear each candidate's perspective on a variety of issues so that they can make the most informed choice on Nov. 3."

Ruberto had agreed to appear at Wednesday's debate with or without Bianchi and confirmed he'd be at Friday's. "We appreciate the mayor's willingness to rearrange his busy schedule and we share his disappointment that the format has been changed to 60 minutes and will not open to the public," wrote Supranowicz.

This debate will be the last of five Pittsfield mayoral debates. The candidates will also meet on Thursday morning at 11:04 on the radio talk show "Up-Front" on WBEC 1420-AM with Larry Kratka.

Friday's debate will be a half-hour shorter than planned, at one hour. The format will not change: The candidates will take turns answering questions and given 2 minutes to answer, followed by a 1-minute rebuttal by the opposing candidate, and a 30-second response to the rebuttal. Each will have a 2-minute opening statement and a 3-minute closing statement.

In addition to being telecast live from 5 to 6 on PCTV Channel 18, the debate will be aired live on "Talk Berkshires" on 1340-AM and 101.7-FM. The moderator is Tammy Daniels, managing editor of iBerkshires.com.

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