Southern New Hampshire 9.12 announced today that the forum for a Lincoln-Douglass style debate between Governor Jon Huntsman and former Speaker Newt Gingrich has had its venue changed without their knowledge or permission. The debate was scheduled for December 12th, at 7 pm, at Windham High School.
From what I can tell it appears as if the Huntsman campaign arranged the event at St. Anselms College without including the Windham organizers in the process. Speaker Gingrich has said he will attend that debate but is still planning to appear in Winhdam where hundreds of people have already reserved seats for the event, far more than the facility in Manchester.
In their official Press release Representative David bates and Ken Eyring, the debate organizers and two of the founders of Southern NH 9.12 said…
“This unexpected, sudden change of venue occurred without our knowledge or approval,” said Representative
Bates. According to Ken Eyring, the new Windham High School features a 600+ seat auditorium with an integrated state of
the art video and sound system, connected to a full production studio linked to Comcast. This facility has the capability to
produce live broadcasts directly from the school. By contrast, according to the Huntsman campaign, St. Anselm’s can
accommodate only about 100 people using folding chairs.
As of this writing there are no New Hampshire events on Governor Huntsman’s campaign page, and the December 12th debate is not scheduled on his New Hampshire Facebook page either… so can we be certain that he will in appear in Mancheste?
My suggestion? Everyone that can, find a way to get yourself to the Windham event. Even if it is just as a show of support for locally organized events and activism. The school will hold up to 600 according to the press release, more people than Huntsman has fans on his NH Facebook page, and probably more people than have ever turned out for any of his other appearances. Wouldn’t it be a shame if 500 people showed up to see Newt and Jon just couldn’t be bothered with more than a meet and greet with a handful of people?
If Governor Huntsman want’s to show us he is more interested in local control than top down micro-management, he’d best un-hijack the event, or figure out who did hijack it, and make an appearance in Windham. We’ll certainly be watching.
Southern NH 9-12 Blog response to snub
I believe you can contact Ken to confirm a reservation. Go ahead and make one if you have not already: event@SouthernNH912.com
[updated] changed the ticket contact info to event@SouthernNH912.com
[updated] Corrected text: Thanks to Ken at 9-12 who informed me that Gingrich and Huntsman are going to debate at 4 or 5 pm at St A’s. Speaker Gingrich will also be appearing for the event in Windham at 7pm. I have edited the post to remove any contrary information.
The text of the Southern NH 9-12 Press release follows.
Contact: Ken Eyring FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ph: 603-434-4836
Email: ken@SouthernNH912.com
HUNTSMAN SNUBS WINDHAM, NH
Representative David Bates and Ken Eyring, two of the founders of the Southern New Hampshire 9.12 Project regretfully
report that Governor Huntsman is backing out of the Windham event that his campaign agreed to four days ago (see attached
email confirmation). The Huntsman campaign confirmed that Governor Jon Huntsman will not appear in Windham, NH for a
debate with Speaker Newt Gingrich as previously agreed. “I am extremely disappointed with the lack of respect towards all of
the people in our community that have worked so hard to prepare for this event.” said Eyring. The Gingrich campaign was still
willing to have the debate in Windham. Speaker Gingrich will be at Windham High School on Monday, December 12th at 7pm
as planned.
The debate was arranged by the Southern NH 9.12 Project, but without explanation has been moved to St. Anselm’s College in
Manchester. “This unexpected, sudden change of venue occurred without our knowledge or approval,” said Representative
Bates. According to Ken Eyring, the new Windham High School features a 600+ seat auditorium with an integrated state of
the art video and sound system, connected to a full production studio linked to Comcast. This facility has the capability to
produce live broadcasts directly from the school. By contrast, according to the Huntsman campaign, St. Anselm’s can
accommodate only about 100 people using folding chairs. That capacity is a small fraction of the hundreds of people who have
already reserved seats for the debate. “I’m dumbfounded as to what could be the motive behind this decision,” Eyring said.
The Hunstman campaign has made a conciliatory offer to come to Windham for an “after debate meet and greet” at the high
school. In response, Bates says; “We are grateful for Speaker Gingrich’s willingness to honor his original promise to our group,
and are looking forward to Governor Huntsman explaining in person to our community his reason for not honoring his
commitment to hold the debate in Windham.” Eyring added, “Part of the group’s mission is to hold elected officials
accountable, and this is all about accountability.” Both Bates and Eyring expressed concern about the questions of integrity
this raises.
The Southern New Hampshire 9.12 Project is a non-partisan, community-minded group that is passionate about the need for
our government to function within the confines of the Constitution while returning to those principles and values it is based
upon. The group meets at the Windham Senior Center on the second Tuesday of each month at 7pm. For more information
see www.southernnh912.com or call 603-434-4836.
[Update-changed formatting issue with press release as “quote”]
