The Hamilton Forum will host a major debate between three candidates for Congress for the seat of Congressman Richard Hanna who is not seeking reelection. Running for reelection two years ago Hanna narrowly defeated in the Republican primary Assemblywoman Claudia Tenney, a Colgate University alumna and former publisher of the Mid-York Weekly.
Recently Tenney won the Republican nomination in a three-way contest. She will debate Democrat Kim Myers, minority leader of the Broome County legislature, and Martin Babinec, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who returned to his native Little Falls in Herkimer County. Babinec is known as an independent candidate for Congress by his TV commercials which have aired for several months. He is now the candidate of the newly founded Upstate Jobs Party that qualified for ballot status last month.
This is the first time in over fifty years that Hamilton will be the site for a debate between candidates for national office. Expecting a record turnout of voters from Madison County and neighboring areas in Oneida and Chenango counties, the Hamilton Forum moved its traditional Colgate Inn venue to the reserved auditorium of the Hamilton Central School on West Kendrick Avenue in the Village of Hamilton. The debate will take place on Thursday evening, October 13 from 7:00 to 9:00. Look for additional information in the coming weeks.
On October 27 the Hamilton Forum will host a rematch debate in the Colgate Inn between Assemblyman Bill Magee and Republican challenger John Salka.