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About Us
2008 Board of Directors
President: Kevin Finch, News Director, WISH-TV, Indianapolis
(President@IndianaDebateCommission.com) Vice-President: Dennis Ryerson, Editor/Vice President, The Indianapolis Star, Indianapolis
(VicePresident@IndianaDebateCommission.com) Treasurer: Gerard Lanosga, Associate Instructor, Indiana University, Bloomington
(Treasurer@IndianaDebateCommission.com) Dan Byron, Attorney, Bingham McHale, Indianapolis Alan Cloe, Executive Vice President, WFYI, Indianapolis Kelly Eskew, Attorney, Bingham McHale, Indianapolis Wendell Hudson, Assignment Editor, WTWO-TV, Terre Haute Terri Jett, Chairwoman of the Political Science Department, Butler University, Indianapolis Max Jones, Editor, Tribune-Star, Terre Haute Deb Lawrence, League of Women Voters of Indiana, Indianapolis Phil Meyer, Station Manager, WTIU-TV, Bloomington William Nangle, Executive Editor, The Times of Northwest Indiana, Munster Keith Robinson, Bureau Chief, The Associated Press, Indianapolis Tracy Warner, Editorial Page Editor, Journal-Gazette, Fort Wayne, Kurt A. Webber, Attorney, Kurt A. Webber LLC, Carmel
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2007 IDC
Timeline
The IDC holds its first meeting in February 2007 at the Indianapolis office
of WFYI. Participants review and discuss debate guidelines from Pew’s
Debate Advisory Standards, Commission on Presidential Debates, and
the League of Women Voters. The IDC planning group has six meetings between February and October
to discuss ideas, create three working committees and develop
governance and membership standards. Committees include:
Governance and Membership; Venues and Logistics;
Rules and Standards. IDC representatives meet with political parties in July to inform them of
the IDC’s goals and mission. Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians
are asked for feedback and input. The IDC unanimously approves articles and bylaws to establish a formal
board of no less than 13 people in September. Language includes a
prohibition on registered lobbyists from serving as board directors. The IDC files incorporation papers with the Indiana Secretary of State’s
office in October. The IDC’s first annual meeting will be in January to elect its 2008 board
of directors. Affiliates to the IDC will be solicited for nominations to
the board.
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Continuing the Tradition of Candidate Debates in Indiana
Candidate debates have been a fixture of Indiana electoral politics for quite some time. Research in the archives of The Indianapolis Star reveals that there have been organized gubernatorial debates in every election from 1980 through 2004.
Candidates in other statewide races also had organized debates over the years. Dan Burton and Andy Jacobs debated in 1970 over one of Indiana’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1954, Gov. George Craig, running unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress, was supposed to debate U.S. Rep. Ray Madden, but it was canceled for lack of TV and radio coverage.
Debates weren’t always so prominent in Indiana electoral campaigns.
From the early to mid-20th century, it doesn't appear that candidates for governor in Indiana debated at all, according to Indiana University historian Jason Scott Lantzer. There are many possible reasons for that, Lantzer said, such as the fact that there was a higher degree of partisanship and fewer independent voters. Party organizations were also stronger and more influential in picking candidates.
In the 19th century, on the contrary, political debates were quite common. University of Southern Indiana historian Tom Rodgers cites one 1860 congressional race in which the candidates debated “five times in five different places in Greene County in just five days.”
But debates had a somewhat different character during that era. “Debates in the 19th century were not meant to be informative explorations of issues,” according to Rodgers. “There were so few independent voters in Indiana that the key to victory was motivating the base. Debates were thus highly partisan and designed to excite the party faithful.”
The upside, however, were better defined issues and voter choices. “Candidates took specific positions and defended them. As a general rule they were not obfuscating their real views, and they did not try to move to the middle. Voters were presented with clear alternatives,” Rodgers said.
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Recent Gubernatorial Debates in Indiana
2004 – Democrat Joe Kernan, Republican Mitch Daniels and Libertarian Kenn Gividen 2000 – Democrat Frank O’Bannon, Republican David McIntosh and Libertarian Andrew Horning 1996 – Democrat Frank O’Bannon, Republican Stephen Goldsmith and Libertarian Steve Dillon 1992 – Democrat Evan Bayh and Republican Linley E. Pearson 1988 – Democrat Evan Bayh and Republican John Mutz 1984 – Democrat W. Wayne Townsend and Republican Robert
Orr 1980 – Democrat John Hillenbrand and Republican Robert Orr
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