Lake Rips Hobbs for ‘Safe Space’ Town Hall Proposal

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee laid into her Democrat opponent in a letter to the Citizens for Clean Elections Commission, claiming that the town hall proposed by that opponent is an unacceptable forum for the pair to meet on stage.

Kari Lake has been calling on Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, the Democrat party’s nominee for Arizona’s highest office, to debate her. For weeks, Hobbs was silent.

Now, though, the Democrat says she will share a stage with Lake, but only if it is in the form of a “town hall.”

“The townhall [sic] format that Katie Hobbs proposed last week is not a debate, but a safe space from any serious criticism or scrutiny of her record,” Lake said in the letter. “Perhaps Katie Hobbs is worried that Kari Lake will bring up her record of convictions for racial and sexual discrimination on live television. She should be, but facing criticism and taking responsibility for your record in front of the voters is one of the most basic qualifications of leadership. Hobbs is failing at it spectacularly.”

Lake said that she will not participate in a town hall with Hobbs, and urged the commission to deny Hobbs’s request.

“The Clean Elections Commission is the only organization in the state that has the opportunity to put together a genuine debate between the two candidates for the people of Arizona,” Lake said. “Kari Lake will not go along with Katie Hobbs’ attempt to sabotage it – and neither should the commission.”

The commission’s leaders will vote on whether Hobbs’s suggested format is permissible, another point of contention for Lake.

Yes, Every Kid

“In addition, we are calling on Commissioner Amy Chan to recuse herself from the commission’s deliberations and vote on this matter,” Lake said. “Given that Chan currently works as general counsel in Katie Hobbs’ secretary of state office, her involvement invokes a clear conflict of interest that would taint the commission’s decision.”

Lake has been requesting a true debate with Hobbs since her primary win in August.

“It looks like my radical opponent Katie Hobbs is going to take a page out of Joe Biden’s playbook and campaign from her basement,” Lake said in her original debate offer. “Do you want to find out if she’s serious about being governor? If she is, she will take me up on this offer.”

She even offered Hobbs latitude to set the parameters of the debate.

“Katie, I’m speaking directly to you,” Lake said. “You claim to care about the people of Arizona. Prove it. Debate me. You name the time and you name the place. And to make things even easier for you, I will allow you to choose the moderator. Hell, I’ll even let you write the questions.”

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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake” by Kari Lake. Photo “Katie Hobbs” by Katie Hobbs. Background Photo “Town Hall Event” by Michael Vadon. CC BY-SA 4.0.

 

 

 

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