TV stations pass on holding more mayoral debates

Oahu residents may not see Mayor Kirk Caldwell and election opponent Charles Djou face off in a televised debate or forum before the Nov. 8 general election, and good-government advocates are bemoaning the loss of opportunities to hear the views of both candidates.

Officials with Hawaii News Now and KITV, which both held forums featuring Caldwell, Djou and former Mayor Peter Carlisle before the Aug. 13 primary, said they have no plans to hold another forum before the general election. A representative for KHON said the station had not made a decision on a mayoral forum, and staff from both the Caldwell and Djou camps said they had not been contacted by the station.

PBS Hawai‘i had scheduled a debate on “Insights on PBS Hawai‘i” on Oct. 27, but Djou either declined or withdrew from the appearance this week, spurring a fiery disagreement between the two campaigns and the station.

Today, AARP Hawaii is live-streaming a phone-in forum featuring Caldwell and Djou. Other than that, there are a few Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce events where the two are scheduled to meet.

Ann Shaver, president of the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, said she was surprised and disappointed by the lack of interest among the broadcast stations. She said she can’t remember the last time a major Hawaii general election contest has not been preceded by at least one televised debate.

“An informed electorate is the basis for our democracy,” Shaver said. Citizens should be given the chance to observe their candidates side by side, unscripted and unfiltered, she added.

Outside of today’s AARP event and a Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii debate Thursday that was live-streamed by nearly all major Honolulu news outlets (a video of which can be viewed at staradvertiser.com), “it’s a shame that no organization has gotten their act together to sponsor a live program,” Shaver said.

Gerald Kato, chairman of the University of Hawaii-Manoa Journalism Department, was also dismayed. “My belief is that the more information, the more opportunities there are for the public to see the candidates engage with each other, the better for the public.”

Caldwell captured first place in the primary with only 1,530 votes more than Djou. Given the closeness of that vote, “you would think there’d be interest in exposing the candidates to as many public debates as possible,” he said.

KITV News Director Mike Darrah and Hawaii News Now News Director Mark Platte both said they didn’t feel compelled to hold a live Caldwell-Djou forum after televising a forum with the three major mayoral candidates before the primary.

KITV held a half-hour forum at the end of July that basically took over the second half of the station’s regular hourlong, 6 p.m. broadcast.

“Quite frankly, it’s a matter of an allocation of resources,” Darrah said. “We’re throwing a lot at the Pearl Harbor anniversary and the Honolulu Marathon.”

The station is covering the mayoral election with a number of individual news stories regarding the race, he said.

Platte said HNN felt its primary debate was a rousing success but, like Darrah, doesn’t see the need for another one. “There’s going to be plenty of coverage,” he said, pointing out that candidates are given ample coverage time not just in news stories but during its weekday morning show and other avenues.

“We don’t feel the need to take another hour, hour and a half,” he said, noting that the station provides forums and debates as a public service without any advertising.

Besides that, Djou recently changed his position on the controversial rail project and said he now agrees with Caldwell that the line needs to stretch 20 miles to Ala Moana, Platte said.

University of Hawaii political science professor Colin Moore said he empathizes with why the TV stations may be reluctant to hold mayoral debates now, especially after Djou said he would support rail to Ala Moana.

“There’s no signature issue now,” he said.

Their views on the other issues are just being rehashed, Moore said.

Still, he said, some voters may only be waking up to the campaign now that there’s a general election. “So I tend to think that a couple of more opportunities would be helpful for people, particularly in a nonpartisan election,” he said.

Campaign representatives for both Djou and Caldwell said they would prefer to see more broadcast forums and debates. But they also pointed out that they have participated in more than a dozen forums — both televised and untelevised.

To listen to this morning’s hourlong AARP Hawaii forum online, go to vekeo.com/aarp-hawaii/#event-16743.