Devlin Declines Participation in Proposed LWVCA Debate

County GOP Chair Accuses Group of Being ‘Far-Left’

By ERIC SANTOMAURO-STENZEL
COOPERSTOWN

The League of Women Voters of the Cooperstown Area wants to host candidate debates, including in the closely-watched race for county sheriff between Sheriff Richard Devlin Jr. and his former deputy-come-primary challenger Mike Stalter.

But the county GOP, according to its chair and County Board Chair Edwin Frazier Jr., has a “long standing position” against participating in debates the group sponsors, citing a negative debate experience in 2018 and LWVCA’s political views. The League, a nonpartisan organization which does not endorse candidates, maintains the 2018 incident was an anomaly, pointing to years of successful debates wherein debate moderation is separate from their published policy positions.

When the LWVCA invited Stalter and Devlin to participate in a debate before the June 23 Republican primary, only Stalter agreed. Devlin “refused,” according to a LWVCA press release.

“Without the opportunity for the two candidates to meet with their constituents and express their positions on the issues related to this office, democracy in Otsego County is diminished,” said Maureen Murray, chair of the group’s Voter Service Committee.

In a statement, Frazier said the LWVCA “has abandoned any pretense of political neutrality. Their organization has repeatedly aligned itself with far-left positions on issues including the Second Amendment, DEI-driven governmental policies, environmental policies, including upstate solar farms, and progressive social activism that are completely out of touch with the values of the majority of Otsego County’s residents.

“Republican candidates should not be expected to legitimize partisan political theater disguised as a neutral public forum,” Frazier said.

He cited the LWVCA’s website, which includes support for the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and details on the group’s DEI policy. Frazier pointed to one page with opinion articles in opposition to a 2020 effort to make Otsego County a “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”

Frazier and Devlin also cited a messy 2018 debate for the same position as evidence that the LWVCA was not capable of hosting debates.

Devlin and opponent Bob Fernandez traded barbs about each other’s family members who also worked for the county and the audience was unruly. The League threatened to end the debate if the candidates and crowd did not behave, AllOtsego reported at the time.

In his statement last week, Frazier said that “Unfortunately, these ‘debates’ have increasingly become less about honest discussion and more about creating hostile environments designed to generate headlines, soundbites, and political attacks against conservative candidates and Republican values,” adding that the 2018 debate “devolved into a complete lack of control resulting in an unruly crowd and the moderator quitting halfway through and turning the debate over to a member of the audience.” (AllOtsego reported at the time that a member of the audience offered to moderate, not that they actually did.)

Devlin wrote that “I am more than willing to discuss my record of helping make Otsego County one of the safest counties in New York while operating on one of the smallest budgets in the state. I am also prepared to address the misleading misinformation being peddled by my opponent.

“However, I believe that any such discussion should take place in a forum that promotes a healthy, fair, and balanced exchange of thoughts and ideas. Unfortunately, as someone who has participated in League of Women Voters debates, including the infamous 2018 debate, I do not have confidence that the organization is able to provide such a setting,” Devlin wrote.

“The League’s interest in issues does not affect candidate events; the League’s role is strictly that of convener,” LWVCA Co-presidents Hudi Podolsky and Christina Bourgeois responded in a statement. “League moderators are trained to ensure that time is managed equitably and to keep the entire focus on the dialogue between citizens and candidates.”

The two also said the League is a political organization which “has advocated for carefully researched issues” since shortly after its founding.

To host a debate, the League requires that at least two candidates agree to participate “so that it is clear to the public that the League neither supports nor opposes a particular candidate.” Candidates are given equal time for opening and closing statements, with the moderator accepting “respectfully” posed questions from the audience. “The League holds these events to ensure that citizens have an opportunity to hear directly from opposing candidates on the issues that concern the citizens.”

Podolsky and Bourgeois said the 2018 debate was an “anomaly.”

“It did not meet our usual high standards. Following that debate the League leadership concluded that there must be ongoing moderator training, which we instituted shortly thereafter. Since that debate, we have held several candidate forums. All were without incident,” the two said, pointing to recordings of some debates, most recently for Cooperstown’s school board.

Otsego County Board of Representatives Vice Chair Meg Kennedy told AllOtsego she has “always enjoyed” participating in LWVCA’s candidate forums. Kennedy, who has run on the Conservative and Republican lines, said in her experience questions from moderators have been fair and the only “wild cards are the ones that come from the open floor.” She encouraged candidates and voters to participate.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to hear from your constituents, and their questions reflect their values and what they’re looking for,” Kennedy said.

The LWVCA said they contacted Devlin and Stalter during the ballot certification process by the Otsego County Board of Elections. The League offered multiple potential dates for a debate to be held at the Otsego County Courthouse in Cooperstown.

Stalter told AllOtsego he was “flattered” to be invited for the debate, and disappointed it will not be occurring.

“I think [Devlin] has a difficulty with what it is that we’re bringing to the table and the issues that we’re having with his administration,” Stalter said. “I don’t even know what his platform is.”

Stalter said he is running for “a better working environment for our employees,” to end the practice of boarding out much of the county’s incarcerated populations to other jails, and not to build a new county jail estimated at $100 million, as Devlin has long advocated.

According to Frazier in his statement to AllOtsego, “Sheriff Rich Devlin has a proven record of protecting public safety, supporting law enforcement, defending constitutional rights, and standing up for the taxpayers of Otsego County. His record speaks for itself and voters know exactly where he stands.”

LWVCA leaders said they have observed a trend of fewer candidates agreeing to debates. They pointed to both GOP candidates for the State Senate District 51 being vacated by Peter Oberacker, Assemblymember Chris Tague and Sullivan County Legislator Terry Bernardo, not responding to their inquiries about organizing a debate. The League also said only one candidate for Town of Hartwick town supervisor agreed to a debate in 2025, with similar scenarios also occurring in 2023 for both that role and county clerk.

“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to get candidates to agree to just turn out in front of the people who they want to vote for them,” Podolsky told AllOtsego.

According to Frazier, Devlin “and all our candidates remain willing to engage directly with voters through community events, interviews, public appearances, grassroots campaigning, and moderated forums by organizations who do not demonstrate a clear ideological bias.”

They should not be forced, he said, “to participate in one-sided political spectacles masquerading as civic engagement.”

At this time, no other public forums or debates have been announced.

The LWVCA is expected to host a debate between the three Democratic primary candidates for the 102nd Assembly District on Thursday, June 4 from 7-9 p.m. at Bouck Hall Theater, 106 Suffolk Circle in Cobleskill, on the SUNY Cobleskill campus.