By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher
Steven Palazzo- Republican candidate for Fourth Congressional District
Fourth Congressional District candidate Joe Tegerdine said he hopes the reason his opponent has declined to challenge him in a debate in Columbia is solely based on scheduling.
Tegerdine said it would be disappointing to the election process if his challenger in the June 1 Republican primary, Steven Palazzo, was choosing not to take part in a debate for other reasons.
Tegerdine of Petal agreed to debate Palazzo of Biloxi in Columbia on May 10 or 11. But Palazzo’s schedule is full on those days, said his campaign manager, Wells Griffith.
Tegerdine said this is not the first time Palazzo has been unavailable for debate, saying it also happened in Wayne County. The voters deserve to hear the two candidates face off in a debate, Tegerdine said.
Tegerdine vowed to always make time for Marion County even though this area is not where the most votes are. Professional politicians often devote most of their time to places they think they can get the most votes, Tegerdine said, adding that all constituents are equally important to him.
Joe Tegerdine- Republican candidate for Fourth Congressional District
Tegerdine and Palazzo are running for the U.S. congressional seat currently held by Democrat Gene Taylor of Bay St. Louis who has been in office for 20 years.
Griffith does not know of any dates right now that Palazzo would be available to debate Tegerdine in Columbia. Palazzo already has other candidate forums with Tegerdine scheduled in Pearl River County, Gulfport and Biloxi and, “At this point it’s not feasible to have one in every single county,” Griffith said.
Palazzo is planning a trip to Columbia on April 26 or 27 to meet with the Marion County Republican Women but won’t have time to debate Tegerdine during that visit, Griffith said. Palazzo visited Columbia last month.
The Palazzo campaign will attempt to schedule an alternative date it could be in Columbia to debate Tegerdine, Griffith added. Palazzo is a member of the state Legislature and will go back into session in April. Without knowing how long the session will be, it is difficult to schedule a debate in Columbia, Griffith said.
“We love going up to Marion County, but it’s tough to tie down a date with everything that’s going and with so little time before the primary,” said Griffith. “We’ll do our best to get back up there for a candidate forum.”
Once the legislative session begins, Griffith said the Palazzo campaign will have a better idea of what the schedule will be.
You can’t expect Palazzo to allow Tegerdine to dictate his campaign schedule.
The guy is an accountant and state legislator… he’s a lil busy right now.
Tegerdine also has a full time job. You may also note that Tegerdine is not a career politician and is running a true grassroots campaign. The Tegerdine campaign is being fueled by supporters/volunteers.
When we send Joe Tegerdine to Washington “We The People” will be sending a true statesman to serve us.
Steve Palazzo and Wells Griffith had time to come to the 912 Project which has endorsed Joe Tegerdine and pass out his materials to the 912ers when Joe Tegerdine was not there.
The Gulf Coast 912 Project meets in Steve Palazzo’s hometown area and yet they endorsed Joe Tegerdine along with the Hattiesburg 912 Project and Tea Partty.
The Facts are clear watch here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-Yk6axcbkM
I would like to see this race be a positive one for this District. Stop the name calling! Although “Joe TeaParty” is not a negative thing. I see the winner of this primary will be the one with a true grassroots campaign and the support of the Tea Party and 912 groups. The time is now to back your candidate.
Of course one can’t dictate the schedule of another – but Palazzo should have jumped in the race earlier than a week before the deadline to allow voters time to differentiate between the two candidates. Joe Tegerdine committed himself to the voters last summer.
Lets focus on the Patriot Pledge http://www.patriotpledge.org
Very good thing for Joe Tegerdine to sign this…
May 10 and 11 is still a little far off. If the date was important he could be there.
always remember: all new candidates look promising in the early stretch….but are easily corrupted once they get with the “hardened” politicians. happens to them all – just check their voting records and handling of the really crucial matters. don’t be too hasty to jump from the frying pan into the fire. beware of any underlying support and slander approaches.
After seeing Steve’s poor performance in a debate against Joe Tegerdine in Hattiesburg. I understand why he doesn’t want to do anymore debates. He has no grasp of the issues on a national or state level and could care less about any of the 4th congressional district north of I-10.
I’ve seen both of them speak in a debate forum. Joe won my vote hands down. I was pleased to see Joe’s sign on Hannity last week. That shows the difference between hired help and grassroots help. I bet that air time was worth twice the amount of that 125K war chest.
Rasmussen polls now have 24% of likely voters self identify as Tea Partiers, an increase of 8% in the last month. An additional 10% say they have a close friend or family member involved. It’s growing, folks.
Joe ‘Tea Party’ Tegerdine can unite the GOP and the grassroots to defeat Gene this fall.
Why is the Informer become a mouthpiece for Tegerdine to make allegations? This looks like a press release and not an actual article. I hope he intends to give equal time and coverage to all candidates in this race.
If you read the article you will see the Informer contacted the Palazzo campaign and Wells Griffith, Steven’s campaign manager responded. I would be “frustrated” too if my guy refused a debate.
Griffith also says that there is no time for a debate in every county. Maybe they should have entered the race sooner then.