GOP Lieutenant Governor nominee Mary Kane has ducked out of a debate with incumbent Lieutenant Governor Anthony Brown – even though it was to be held in her own community of Potomac!
On Wednesday, Congregation Har Shalom of Potomac sent out this solicitation for a debate between Kane and Brown to be held this Sunday.
Kane had confirmed participation prior to this notice, but upon learning that Brown had also confirmed, Kane pulled out citing a “scheduling conflict” the day after the notice was sent. Kane lives 3.5 miles away from the synagogue.
Brown released this statement:
Marylanders deserve an open and honest conversation between the candidates. I am prepared and excited to engage Mary Kane on the issues important to all Marylanders and was looking forward to sharing a stage with her on Sunday morning. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kane canceled her participation in a debate that is taking place just a few minutes from her home.
Marylanders are asking real questions about how Bob Ehrlich and Mary Kane will pay for the hundreds of millions of dollars of promises they’ve made. I had hoped Mary Kane would have been willing to join me to answer these questions and others. I’ll be prepared to join Mrs. Kane for a debate at her earliest convenience. In the meantime, I look forward to joining the congregants of Har Shalom on Sunday morning to talk about the important issues we face – including public education, transportation and biojobs – and the O’Malley-Brown commitment to move Maryland forward.
This is a true pity. Your author was considering attending this debate to hear Kane defend her running mate’s plan to pay for his sales tax cut by cutting funding specifically intended for Montgomery County Public Schools.
Perhaps Bob Ehrlich will consider elaborating on his reasoning for that position in his upcoming debate with Governor O’Malley – assuming he does not also pull out.