Mayoral debate: ABC-7 GM breaks down decision to invite only 3 candidates
Three of the eight candidates for El Paso mayor will face off in a televised debate Sunday on ABC-7 “Xtra.”
The decision to invite only three candidates has drawn the ire of other candidates, including Jaime O Perez, who staged a protest in West El Paso a few blocks from the ABC-7 studio. Perez and another man held a sign showing Perez’s face with tape over his mouth and “KVIA” written on the tape.
During the “ABC-7 at 4” newscast, ABC-7 General Manager Kevin Lovell explained how ABC-7 arrived at the decision to include only three candidates in its Sunday night debate.
“We want to be fair to all the candidates, but ultimately there appear to be only three that are legitimate viable contenders to be the mayor of El Paso,” Lovell said of City Rep. Emma Acosta, former state Rep. Dee Margo, and businessman David Saucedo. “Those are the three that as we did the research had raised by far the most money, in plurality and total cash contributions. And so it really seemed advisable to really have those three in the primary main debate.”
ABC-7 plans to air taped interviews with the other candidates during Sunday’s installment of “Good Morning El Paso Weekend.” All of the candidates have been invited for interviews, Lovell said.
Lovell compared the upcoming debate to the presidential debates during the Republican primaries, which only featured the candidates who were leading in the polls. The other candidates had a separate debate.
Aside from name campaign contributions, recognition, community involvement, fundraising and other factors, Lovell said ABC-7 also took logistics into consideration, adding that a debate involving eight candidates presents all sorts of technical challenges while limiting answers to questions about issues.
The mayoral debate will air live at 10:35 p.m. on ABC-7 “Xtra.” Interviews with the remainder of the candidates will air at 6 and 8 a.m. Sunday during “Good Morning El Paso Weekend.”
