The execution of Saddam Hussein, says Virginia political blogger Ben Tribbett, was more public than Wednesday night’s debate between candidates in a contested Fairfax County board primary.
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It was a declaration that summed up the anger of some online writers after they were officially barred from taping or recording the event, in which Providence District incumbent Linda Smyth squared off against challenger Charlie Hall. The League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area, which organized the debate, had allowed only traditional “credentialed” media to bring in cameras and tape recorders.
In an era where footage of local political functions appears on sites like YouTube, the prohibition was unwelcome. The ban that night drew fire from both Tribbett, who runs the site Not Larry Sabato, and Lowell Feld, who runs the blog Raising Kaine.
“I think that debates are public and they should be as widely disseminated as possible,” Feld said. “I don’t think there should be an artificial distinction between credentialed and un-credentialed [press].”
League President Sherry Zachry, who moderated the debate, has refused to comment on reasoning behind the restriction, and did not return a phone call Thursday.
The controversy was only part of the furor surrounding the event, which may be the only time that Hall and Smyth debate each other in public before the June 12 Democratic primary.
Despite prior guidelines that candidates would alternate answering questions first, Hall ended up responding first and Smyth second throughout the hour, which Hall supporters said was unfair. The move angered some members of the audience and prompted a brief but heated exchange between attendees and Zachry.
At one question, the moderator also prompted Smyth to talk about a “one-penny fund” the board had set aside for affordable housing. The verbal nudge again sparked later rumblings from members audience, questioning Zachry’s impartiality.
