Letter to the editor: Public needs better notice, access to political debates

I find it odd that the first debates between Heidi Heitkamp and Rick Berg, Kevin Cramer and Pam Gulleson, and Jack Dalrymple and Ryan Taylor, sponsored by the North Dakota Broadcasters Association, took place with little advance publicity and limited television and radio station participation. In addition, the timing was ridiculous — working people cannot stop what they’re paid to be doing at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. or 2 p.m., even to become informed about the very important issues facing the citizens of North Dakota today.

I would very much like to sponsor a community viewing of the debates, but it appears that the YouTube download is audio only, and I have not been able to find a schedule of rebroadcasts — if there is to be any.

North Dakota and this country are at a crossroads, and the citizens of this great state deserve the opportunity to get to know the candidates for office and their positions on the issues. This is not possible when debates are planned so that only the very few have access to them. I would hope that the sponsors of the remaining debates consider all of the citizens of North Dakota as they plan the times, the places, and the dissemination of what we need to know.

Laurel Jones

Bowdon, N.D.

Tags: letters to the editor, letters, opinion, politics, election