Save the date: Nine days before the election, KEYT-TV will host the one and only, live televised debate among the five candidates for mayor of Santa Barbara, News Director Jim Lemon confirms.
The event is scheduled to air live on KEYT and keyt.com on Sunday night, October 29, from 7-8 p.m. It will be simulcast and then repeated several times on the NOW Channel (Over the air Channel 3.2, Cable Channel 13).
“It’s important for Santa Barbara voters to see their candidates for the city’s top elected position in an unfiltered way,” emails Jim. “Answering questions and outlining their take on city issues, ranging from downtown development to jobs creation, is vital so voters can decide Santa Barbara’s next leader.”
We’re told all five candidates – Angel Martinez, Bendy White, Cathy Murillo, Frank Hotchkiss and Hal Conklin – plan to be there, so it will be the last, best chance for undecideds to see and hear the rivals on the same stage before mailing off a ballot.
The panel of journalists asking questions will be led by KEYT anchors Beth Farnsworth and CJ Ward, and include Noozhawk EIC Tom Bolton, plus a representative chosen from amid the vast and byzantine journalism bureaucracy that is the “Newsmakers” Santa Barbara bureau.
More details later.
JR
Images: KEYT logo; News Director Jim Lemon.
Email us news tips at newsmakerswithjr@gmail.com or comment on our stories on our Facebook page - SB City Desk. Thanks for reading.