Fresh Loaf

If you’re still on the fence about who to vote for in Atlanta’s Nov. 3 elections — and there are plenty of you out there, we’re sure — be sure to tune to PBA on Oct. 25 and on Nov. 1.

The Atlanta Press Club’s wrangled candidates for Atlanta mayor and city council, forced them to stand at podiums, and allowed journalists to pummel them with questions.

Prerecorded APC debates for Atlanta City Council’s three At-Large posts will air Sunday morning. Atlanta mayoral candidates will participate in a live one-hour debate at 7 p.m. And a prerecorded debate between Atlanta City Council president candidates will air on Nov. 1.

The full broadcast schedule follows after the jump.

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In mid-July, the citizen coalition Campaign for Atlanta held a two-day series of forums with Atlanta mayoral candidates Lisa Borders, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed and Jesse Spikes at the Carter Center.

Topics covered during the events included Department of Watershed Management issues, creating and maintaining a competent city bureaucracy, and police and fire issues. Candidates were grilled by civil engineer Bob Bunker, Georgia Tech Professor Jim Martin, former Fulton County Manager Sam Brownlee, former Atlanta Deputy Police Chief Lou Arcangeli and former Atlanta Fire Chief David Chamberlin.

All 32 videos of the event, grouped by candidate remarks and responses, were made available today on Campaign for Atlanta’s website. We’ve uploaded each candidate’s opening remarks after the jump.

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Jim Galloway reports:

Neither Democrat Jim Martin nor Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss would commit — each citing scheduling conflicts. Martin pointed to a visit from former Vice President Al Gore, and the Chambliss campaign said it had a fund-raiser on its calendar.

Press club debates involving two other runoffs, for Public Service Commission and the state Court of Appeals, will be held Sunday

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Grady High School Speech and Debate Team Coach Brandon Sheats sends word via Twitter that last night’s mock Presidential debate raised $1,536.85 for the team. Good work.

If you missed the debate, you can still view it online here.

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The headline’s a bit misleading, sure, but this sounds like it’ll be just as interesting.

Grady High School’s award-winning Speech and Debate Team is hosting “The Final Showdown,” a U.S. presidential debate tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the school’s Main Theater. Seniors Mike Robinson and Demarius Wilson will portray John McCain and Barack Obama and debate healthcare, the economy, foreign policy and other issues. The fundraising event will be moderated by members of the press and Emory University’s Barkley Forum. Students and audience members will be able to pose questions to the “candidates.”

Can’t make it out to the event? No worries, you can watch the debate from home — the team will streamcast it live on its website here.

A chili dinner will be offered at 6 p.m. in the high school cafeteria. Tickets cost $12 and can be purchased at the door or online here.

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Last night’s U.S. Senate Debate in Perry, Ga. sounds like it was a helluva time. Anger similar to that reported elsewhere was present.

From the Associated Press’ Shannon McCaffrey’s telling of events:

Chambliss supporters waved “Saxby” signs and offered up a sustained “boos” when Martin mentioned Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

“Bomb Obama,” one woman hollered.

From Jim Tharpe’s AJC report:

One of [Democrat nominee Jim] Martin’s answers was obliterated by jeers from [U.S. Sen. Saxby] Chambliss backers — most of them from middle Georgia — when Martin alluded to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama being sworn in as president. Some audience members shouted, “No Bama!”

Also at the event were Bernita from BlogForDemocracy — she liveblogged the event — and the Macon Telegraph’s Travis Fain. Fain’s write-up of the debate can be viewed here. If there are any Chambliss supporters who attended or covered the event, leave your thoughts about the debate in the comments or send me a link to what you wrote about it.

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After Thursday night’s roller-coaster ride on the YouBetchaExpress, this evening’s presidential debate was relatively staid. I thought Barack Obama clearly led the night, but McCain’s final two answers were stronger.

Your thoughts?

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Tonight at 9 p.m., the two vice presidential nominees from both major parties — where’s the Libertarian? — will face off in what’s sure to be a battle of the wits.

In one corner, we have Sen. Joe Biden, a veteran lawmaker with a history of gaffes but who has more or less held it together — even while riding the Amtrak from D.C. to Delaware every single day of his life. In the other, there’s Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has proven to be the most astute interview subject since Crispin Glover.

To help you enjoy the debate, the fine folks at GEDBlog have put together a Sarah Palin BINGO card. The targeted moose is a free space. Each time Palin mentions “lipstick,” “glass ceiling,” “Tony Rezko,” or the healthy polar bear population, cover a space. First person to mail in their winning BINGO card receives a free pair of 3-D glasses that have been sitting on my desk for a couple of months.

We may or may not be liveblogging this spectacle. I’m in talks with a special guest to join me, a person who has changed the very fabric of modern politics with her wit, wisdom and style. I’m speaking with her agents, who as luck would have it, are demanding I provide her with tomatoes. Even if we don’t, at least you have this fancy game to play.

To print out a BINGO card, click here to access the PDF version.

(Hat tip to various folks on Tumblr, GEDBlog)

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A top campaign aide insisted that Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss wants to include Libertarian Allen Buckley in debates. But Buckley complained last week that Chambliss doesn’t want to debate.

“We didn’t wait for the Democrat to say that the Libertarian should not be involved in the debate, because that’s generally what the Democrat does. They don’t want the Libertarian involved in the debate. We said the Libertarian would be involved in all the debates. If he doesn’t want to show up that’s his business.”

— Tom Perdue, Chambliss’ campaign consultant, in a Sept. 4 interview with CL

“Saxby is running from his record. His goal is clear: to minimize debates and blast the airwaves from now until the election with commercials stating that he ‘represents our conservative values.’ He doesn’t represent my values. Let’s debate as much as possible.”

— Buckley in a Sept. 10 press release

“We have no comment.”

— Kate Hansen, a campaign spokeswoman for Democratic candidate Jim Martin

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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CL’s news staff provides up-to-the-minute coverage of the U.S. Senate debate and unlike what you see on TV, you get to participate!

[liveblog]http://www.coveritlive.com/index2.php?option=com_altcaster&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=4266410119&height=550&width=470[/liveblog]

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Are you eager to voice your thoughts about Jim Martin and Vernon Jones in a family-friendly forum? Maybe you’re angry about U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss? Fear not, fellow Georgians, you’re among friends here on Fresh Loaf.

I’ll be liveblogging tonight’s Georgia Public Broadcasting debate at 7 p.m. between the two Democrats vying to take a shot at incumbent Chambliss in November. There’ll be quips, comments, updates, tidbits and lots of super-scientific polls.

Drinking game rules are as follows:

• Each time Martin mentions one of his endorsements, take a shot. If he mentions one of his non-endorsements from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, former opponent Josh Lanier, or state Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin, take two shots.

• Each time Vernon Jones mentions his work as DeKalb County CEO, take a swig of a strawberry daiquiri. You get bonus points if you’re eating smores.

• If Martin mentions Jones’ past two votes for President George W. Bush, funnel a Busch Light. If Jones says Martin voted for John Edwards, drink a National Enquirer. Don’t ask questions, just do it.

That’s all I have right now. There might be more. Regardless, skip your weekly capoiera practice early and stop by just before 7 p.m. If you don’t, I’ll be lonely and frightened, all alone in the Internet.

(Photo courtesy of Megatonik.com)

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The conventional wisdom is that 10th District Congressional candidate Barry Fleming of Harlem has truckloads more campaign funding than GOP incumbent Paul Broun of Athens, he has the support of all the heavy-hitting Republicans in the state House and his views on, well, most issues are more in line with conservative primary voters.

But judging simply from the pair’s performance in last night’s Webcast debate, Fleming looks like a man in trouble. After less than one term in Washington, Broun is still not the most practiced speaker, but Fleming, sporting heavy bags under his eyes, consistently looked and sounded tired, sullen and shifty.

By all accounts, Fleming has waged a particularly nasty, mean-spirited campaign, dredging up a 25-year-old contempt of court charge against Broun for falling behind in his alimony. Fleming tried to defend his approach by saying the way Broun handled his personal affairs back then somehow reflects on how he deals with legislation now, but that explanation didn’t sound any more convincing than it reads.

Fleming accused Broun of supporting child Internet pornography, marijuana use and other vices because he broke with the GOP pack in voting against some nanny-state legislation. But Broun seemed to deflect the criticism effectively by claiming he was standing up for personal privacy, states’ rights and other conservative ideals – all without mentioning that he is a screaming libertarian.

Finally, Fleming, who’s served as majority whip in the Georgia House for the past two years, tried to argue that his record as a legislative leader qualifies him for Congress – that is, until the AP’s Shannon McCaffrey pointed out that the most recent General Assembly was a “dismal failure.” Doh!

I’d never seen Broun in action before and while I wouldn’t want him as my congressman, I’d certainly say he came across better in all respects than the sourpussed Fleming. But please let us know if you had a different take on the debate or the race.

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Two candidates vying for the Public Service Commission’s District 4 seat that represents north Georgia sniped at each other today at the joint Atlanta Press Club/Georgia Public Broadcasting debates and delivered what basically could be amounted to as “Pam loves renewables” and “Bubba loves nukes.” A clear-cut battle between Mother Nature and Radioactive Man.

Bubba McDonald — who’s now going by his given name of Lauren, but he’ll always be Bubba to us — served both on the commission and in the General Assembly and wants to hop back on the agency that regulates the state’s energy sector. His opponent, Pam Davidson, has never held an elected office in her life, but is a former lobbyist and energy consultant who says she makes up for her inexperience with education about the issues.

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