The Michigan Debate Task Force:
The Time is Now
The Problem
In Michigan, there is no convening entity for debates between candidates seeking public office; these do exist in Ohio, Indiana, Utah and Washington and they have been successful. Any debates that do occur in Michigan are dependent upon the candidates’ campaigns deciding and negotiating the number, format and location. Candidates will negotiate the best circumstances for their campaign, not the public. In short, all debate decisions are in the hands of the candidates, which does not always serve the public’s interest.
The Solution
The Michigan Debate Task Force was created by a statewide coalition of organizations from the business, civic and education sectors. Our goal is to change the nature of candidate debates in Michigan by taking the decisions about the occurrence of debates, as well as their format and location, out of the hands of the candidates themselves. All members of the Task Force are participating with the public good front and center in their thinking. The citizens of Michigan deserve regular, high-quality, informative, civil and respectful discussions between those seeking to be our representatives. The Michigan Debate Task Force provides this through candidate debates that feature unfiltered information rather than scripted and produced information that is typical of campaigns today.
Our Mission
Our mission is to change the landscape of political debates in Michigan. We host debates with candidates seeking statewide office. We host debates to ensure voters hear from candidates in an unfiltered manner rather than just produced or scripted media, thus enriching the information to which voters have access.
