For now, 16th District candidates can’t find a date to debate

By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Democratic Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker and his two running mates in the 16th state Legislative District race charged this week that their Republican opponents are refusing to debate them, something the GOP denies.
The Democrats’ campaign this week issued a news release saying state Sen. Kip Bateman and Assembly candidates Donna Simon, a former Assemblywoman, and Somerset County Freeholder Mark Caliguire are refusing to participate in a League of Women Voters forum that was scheduled for Oct.3.
“The message we got was that they refused to debate and claimed the date was not good for them and refused to give any alternative dates,” Zwicker said by phone Wednesday.
He said he hopes the Republicans “reconsider” and debate him and his running mates, Assembly candidate Roy Freiman and Senate candidate Laurie Poppe, “multiple times.”
“I think that debates give a chance for the people of the sixteenth (district) to hear about real, substantive policy issues and not sound bites, and they’re an important part of the democratic process,” he said.
Chrystal Schivell, of the League of Women Voters of the Princeton Area, the group that was going to host the event, said Wednesday that the Republicans “did not accept” her group’s invitation. As a result, the Oct. 3 forum was cancelled.
“We’ve had these forums for the past three (election) cycles, so we would love to be able to offer the voters a sixteenth district debate, and we hope that the Republicans will reconsider,” she said.
She said the Republicans were not able to commit to the dates she had offered. “I hope they can work out their schedules to set a date that might be possible,” she said.
For his part, Bateman offered that it was simply a scheduling problem.
“We’re looking forward to debating,” he said Wednesday. “I’m not sure that one was right on the schedule.”
Bateman said he had “no problem” debating.
“It’s just a question of getting the schedule right,” he said. “Every election I’ve been in, I’ve always debated. I look forward to it. So it’s just a question of conflicts on the schedule. They’ve got to find a date that’s suitable for both sides.”
The 16th District spans parts of Mercer, Somerset, Hunterdon and Middlesex counties; Princeton is the lone Mercer County town represented in it.
In 2015, Zwicker upset Simon, an incumbent, in a squeaker in a year when voter turnout was low. She is seeking to win back her seat.
The year, all 120 seats in the Legislature are up for grabs, with Democrats holding majorities in both houses. Democrats have a 23-16 edge in the Senate, with one seat vacant by the death of Sen. Jim Whelan (D-2) in August, and a 52-28 edge in the Assembly.