I’m looking forward to Wednesday’s South Shore Economic Development Forum, and I give Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik for taking the lead in putting it together.
I am expecting an open, honest and robust discussion about some of the important issues facing the collective economies of South Milwaukee, St. Francis, Cudahy and Oak Creek. There are many … including many that we can, and should, tackle together.
One thing the forum won’t be, however, is a debate. So while the two candidates for Milwaukee County executive are scheduled to be there, state Rep. Jeff Stone and philanthropist Chris Abele will probably not interact much during the event.
Stone is raising Abele’s alleged unwillingness to debate as an issue in the campaign, even as the two candidates appear in 12 forums similar to next week’s before the April 5 election. Check out the Journal Sentinel story here. From it:
Stone called Abele’s rejection of debates a disservice to voters. The sessions Abele has accepted don’t allow an “opportunity for an exchange or a real, true debate of the ideas,” Stone said.
Abele spokesman Brandon Lorenz called Stone’s criticism “a desperate charge from someone who skipped out on two forums in the primary.” Stone did not attend the final two of four candidate forums held before the Feb. 15 primary, when it was a five-way race.
I hope this does not become an issue on Wednesday. There are plenty of other, more important, things we need to discuss.
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