Congressional candidate Delegate Tony O’Donnell has repeatedly challenged Congressman Steny Hoyer to a series of debates, but thus far Hoyer’s campaign has not responded. With Hoyer’s 45 years of experience as an elected Maryland official, it is puzzling as to why he is passing up the opportunity to brag about his record.
The following open letter to Congressman Hoyer has been released to the media by the leaders of the Republican Central Committees of St. Mary’s, Charles, Calvert, Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, which comprise Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District; it is posted here with their permission.
Letter to Congressman Hoyer: We are aware that Congressional Candidate Tony O’Donnell has challenged you to a series of debates with two televised and an additional one at a venue in each of the five counties in Maryland’s 5th District. We know the O’Donnell campaign offered to meet with your campaign to work out the details of these debates. We know that your campaign received the letter laying out this debate challenge and invitation to meet.
We know that as of this date your campaign has not replied with the courtesy of a response to O’Donnell’s challenge. We read recently where you were quoted in the media as saying you had not even given any consideration to this challenge to publicly debate, with a smile of course.
We are hereby asking you to set aside your fears of debating Tony O’Donnell, both on television and in all five counties of the district. In our opinion, your failure to respond to this request in any manner is insulting. It is an insult not to Maryland House Minority Leader O’Donnell, nor to the Republican Party of the district, but it is an affront to all registered voters regardless of political affiliation; Republicans and Democrats and those unaffiliated and others alike.
All voters, regardless of political affiliation, deserve to hear you defend your record so they can decide for themselves who will best represent them going forward, either O’Donnell or Hoyer. Of course, if you are simply nervous to debate, they also deserve to hear this response from you as well.
Congressman Hoyer, please reconsider your “non-consideration’ of this challenge and agree to debate Delegate O’Donnell. After all, you have over 45 years’ experience as an elected official in Maryland. We hope you have not become so detached in these many decades that you don’t feel the voters have the right to hear you debate your major opposition any more, especially before the upcoming election.
Signed: Mary Burke-Russell, Kirk Bowie, Frank McCabe, Jason Papanikolas, and Alan Rzepkowski.
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