DA Watkins Backs Out of Debate
The District Attorney candidate forum scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday looks like it will be more of a monologue than a debate. Democratic District Attorney Craig Watkins was to join Republican challenger Danny Clancy for a debate moderated by Councilwoman Ann Margolin at W.T. White High School.
But Watkins’ campaign manager sent a letter last week saying that Watkins would be unable to attend because of scheduling conflicts, says Bob Kelly, president of Schreiber Crime Watch, which is hosting the event.
Disappointing, Kelly says, but the show must go on. The forum is still on, only it will be more of a town hall meeting than a debate. Attendees will submit questions in writing prior to the meeting, which will then be selected and read by Margolin and answered by Clancy.
The goal has always been about educating neighbors, Kelly said. Even in Watkins absence, that hasn’t changed.
“What we want to do is tell our people what goes on,” he says. “Police catch the bad guys, and they get put into the criminal justice system, and we just don’t know what goes on.”
