Voices Spotlight: Do candidate debates matter anymore?

Welcome back to the second edition of the AJC Voices Spotlight, featuring compelling opinion columns through the Nov. 3 election. I’m David Plazas, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opinion editor, and I plan to vote this week in the midterm elections. Early voting — which goes from Oct. 13-30 — is my preferred method since Election Day can be pretty hectic for newsrooms. Whatever your plan is — voting early, on Election Day or by mail — have your say at the ballot box and wear your “I Voted” sticker proudly.

DEBATE OF THE WEEK

Is one candidate debate enough for the public?

Last week, the highly anticipated town hall-style debate between candidates for governor and U.S. senator, respectively, took place on Atlanta News First. The AJC covered it through a live blog, stories, analysis and the “Politically Georgia” podcast. The gubernatorial debate between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson may be their only matchup of the election season. Jackson had only accepted the ANF event while Bottoms said yes to six debates, including one for the Atlanta Press Club Monday night where she is expected to be debating against an empty podium.

Kristal Thompson, who describes herself as a “fed up 92 percenter” — representing the 92% of Black women who supported Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election — writes in a guest opinion column that one debate is not enough.

“Debates do something campaign events cannot. A campaign event delivers a candidate’s message. A debate tests it. Both candidates answer the same questions under the same rules. Opponents can challenge each other’s answers, journalists can follow up, and voters can compare claims side by side,” Thompson wrote. (Read her full column here)

Candidate’s perspective: Meanwhile, 7th Congressional District Democratic nominee Tony Kozycki has been appearing on stage in debates against empty podiums meant for his opponent, Republican U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick.

In the Sept. 18 Politically Georgia newsletter, McCormick explained his decision to avoid confronting Kozycki: “If it’s Tony, it’s just trying to get me to react because the only thing that can happen with a debate is publicity for him which he badly needs.”

Kozycki took issue with that statement in his guest opinion column published on Oct. 8: “McCormick doesn’t owe me a debate. He owes his constituents the opportunity to hear him defend his record, explain what he believes and answer questions from the people he works for.” (Read his full column here)

What do you think? Share your letters of 250 words or fewer to letters@ajc.com. Include your name and town or city.

Cobb County schools parents demand accountability

Cobb County schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale recently announced that the district was banning “The Bluest Eye” by Nobel Laureate Tony Morrison from school libraries. At a school board meeting, he read a passage from the book and censored himself. But in a message to parents and the district website, those words — or slightly altered versions of them — appear.

That riled parent Fran Colley, who wrote in a guest opinion column that she wasn’t so miffed about removing the book than the school district exposing children to harmful language. “The board of education should hold Superintendent Ragsdale accountable for that decision. If it chooses not to, Cobb County voters should when they cast their ballots in the coming weeks,” she wrote. (Read her full column here)

More on politics, faith and archaeology

The AJC publishes around 50 opinion columns a month. Here are excerpts from some of the best read of the week.

• Will Dems flip the Statehouse? Lauren Groh-Wargo seems to think so. She is CEO of Fair Fight, a Georgia-based nonprofit that fights for free and fair elections, founded by Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic legislator who ran twice unsuccessfully against Gov. Brian Kemp. “But this is the year Democrats have momentum, with voters repelled by a toxic Trump administration and a MAGA state GOP that’s wrecking the economy and trampling Georgians’ rights,” Groh-Wargo wrote. (Read her full column here)
• Rick Jackson’s faith journey: Mack Parnell, executive director of the Georgia Faith & Freedom Coalition, came away impressed by Jackson’s remarks at the coalition’s Sept. 14 Victory Dinner, striking a message of unity and compassion. “From foster care to billionaire, I believe God has prepared him for such a time as this, and I am glad he answered the call,” Parnell wrote. (Read his full column here)
• Threat to historic battlefields: A proposed change to Section 106 the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) of 1966 could lead to harm to or destruction of historic sites across Georgia, according to archaeologists Maureen Meyers and Sarah Love. “We urge all Georgians to speak out against these changes. These revisions will silence the public’s voice and destroy what we know of tens of thousands of years of history on American soil,” they wrote. (Read their full column here)

What readers are saying

The Oct. 4 “Readers Write” letters to the editor offered different perspectives about the state of the nation under Republican President Donald Trump currently and under his predecessor, former Democratic President Joe Biden. (Read the full text of their letters here.)

• “Here comes the next President Donald Trump lie/falsehood — every adult will get $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the Senate and House of Representatives. Personally, I find the idea to be unlawful — interfering with the voting process, voter bribery, illegal use of taxpayer funds, etc. Call it what you will” — David Pitts, Atlanta
• “Would a return to higher inflation and gas prices (yes, both were higher under President Joe Biden), along with policies that pressure people to switch exclusively to electric vehicles, weakened support for law enforcement, reduced border enforcement, and less secure elections truly improve our lives?” — Bob George, Alpharetta

Quotables

🔍 Read Vanessa Griddine-Jones’ full guest opinion about the death penalty in Georgia.