Hill, Young agree to debates

U.S. Congressman Baron Hill of Seymour agreed Friday to participate in two debates with 9th District candidates before the November election.

The debates will take place at an undetermined date and time in Jasper and Bloomington and will be sponsored by Vincennes University and Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

The format of the debates has not yet been worked out.

Hill, a Democrat, called the debates a “key step in ensuring that voters get multiple opportunities to hear the candidates’ opinions unfiltered.”

He said he encourages his competitors to accept the invitations as well.

“Voters deserve a full and fair debate, and that is exactly what I want to give them,” Hill said. “Hopefully, my opponents will do the same.”

One candidate, Todd Young, R-Bloomington, already has.

“We had accepted the offer two months ago,” Young’s campaign spokesman, Ryan Burchfield, said Friday.

Other 9th District candidates are Libertarian Greg Knott from Bloomington and write-in Jerry Lucas of Deputy.

Young’s camp is “very happy” that Hill opted to participate in the debates, Burchfield added.

However, Young would prefer “more open town hall-style discussions with voters,” Burchfield said.

“What we are looking and asking for is more of an open town hall forum,” Burchfield said.

“Debates are very rigid and structured. They can be scripted and questions can be formulated ahead of time.”

He said Young wants to have “an opportunity to have a free-flowing discussion with voters of the district.”

Hill recently conducted a town hall-style meeting via teleconference, but was criticized by some because participants had to call in ahead of time to register.

In response to that effort, Young sent out an invitation to Hill to participate in seven candidate forums across the district, with one being held in Seymour.

“We think there is a need to do more than just two appearances,” Burchfield said. “Doesn’t everyone deserve an opportunity to meet the candidates and have their questions answered? We need to spread them (forums) out across the district.”

Hill said he plans to spend August canvassing the 9th District and spending time talking with voters one on one.

“I will spend this next month taking my message directly to the voters as I walk through the district,” he said. “And I look forward to doing the same in the debates.”