First Selectman Candidates Agree to Third Debate

After 11 days of off-and-on negotiation, Republican Jayme Stevenson and Democrat John Lundeen agreed on Monday to meet for a third debate ahead of the Nov. 8 municipal elections.

Responding to an offer by the editors of three local media outlets — the Darien Times, The Daily Darien, and Darien Patch — the candidates consented to a roundtable-style debate to be held at the on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 11:30 a.m.

The offer came after the two campaigns failed to reach an agreement over the weekend on the timing and location of the proposed debate.

It will be the third scheduled face-off between the candidates, who participated in a Channel 12 debate are set to appear at the League of Women Voters' Candidates' Night on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Ultra-Conservative Party candidate Chris Noe has also been invited to participate in the media-moderated event.

Stevenson and Lundeen have both voiced disapproval about the negotiating tactics of the opposition, each arguing that the other had failed to budge on key details.

In a statement released on Sunday, Lundeen charged that "although we have shown flexibility as to location of the debate, my opponent has so far failed to show any flexibility whatsoever on date and time of the debate."

But after Democratic campaign manager Randy Klein had accepted the final terms Monday on behalf of Lundeen, Stevenson asked in an email why "daytime at the library [is] acceptable to the Lundeen campaign but not daytime at the ?"

Lundeen's campaign had agreed, in principle, to participate in a debate at the senior center last week but rejected a subsequent proposal from Stevenson to hold it there on a Friday afternoon.

"I am left to infer that his reluctance to debate at the senior center is his admission that he is afraid and unwilling to speak at the place and in front of the people who are central to the most contested election issue," Stevenson wrote in a follow-up. 

"I would like to further acknowledge that I have compromised on all the details of this debate — date, time and place — in the interest of serving the public," she added.