Roseville Patch to Host State House 66A , County District 2 Debate Thursday

Roseville Patch on Thursday (Nov. 1) will host a debate between Republican Mark Fotsch, DFLer Alice Hausman and Independence Party candidate Dave Thomas for Minnesota State House District 66A.

The forum is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the Salon D meeting room at the Radisson Hotel Roseville, 2540 Cleveland Ave. N.

Roseville Patch will serve as the debate moderator. CTV North Suburbs has also agreed to be present to record the debate.

We have set aside 60 minutes for the House debate.

We also expect Ramsey County District 2 candidates Sue Jeffers and Mary Jo McGuire to be the forum to talk about the issues in their race. That discussion will start at 8 p.m and go until 8:45 p.m. 

We will be drawing up a list of questions. If you have questions that you would like to ask the candidates, please submit them in the comments below and indicate whether they are for the House or  County Board race.

Time permitting, we will open up the concluding part of each forum to questions from the audience.

This will be the only forum showcasing all three of the the District 66A  candidates. Fotsch recently declined to participate in any League of Women Voters' forums, contending the group is no longer non-partisan because it is urging voters to cast a "no' ballot on the proposed Marriage and Voter ID constitutitional amendments. (To see the full report on that dispute, click on this link on Roseville Patch.)

League leaders disagree with Fotsch's characterization of their group's stand on the proposed constitutional amendments. Nevertheless, the fact remains that Fotsch's decision not to participate in any League-sponsored debates would leave no scheduled forums involving the attendance of both major party candidates. 

As a result, I decided to step forward and host a debate that would give voters a chance to see Fotsch discuss the issues with Hausman and Thomas.

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