Nahant’s Dent pressing McGee for wider debate plan

LYNN – State Senate seat challenger Christopher Dent of Nahant renewed his call for a series of debates with incumbent state Sen. Thomas McGee of Lynn.McGee, a Lynn Democrat, has refused to debate Dent outside the city limits.Dent said Monday the senator is doing a disservice to the voters of the Senate district by agreeing only to a debate on Oct. 15 at the Porthole Pub restaurant at 7:30 a.m.According to Dent, the early morning schedule for the Oct. 15 event makes it difficult for working people to attend.The location on the Lynn waterfront is also inconvenient for voters who live in other parts of the district, the Republican candidate said.McGee said the Lynn debate will be followed by a meeting of the two candidates before the Salem News editorial board on Oct. 18.The Lynn debate is sponsored by the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce (LACC), which imposes an admission fee.”I’m excited about the LACC forum on the 15th, but I think it’s timing and limited scope will leave many of the voters out,” Dent said. “I originally asked for a debate in every community in the district, free and open to the public.”Dent said McGee has expressed no interest in engaging in such debates despite requests dating back to early August.”I think a failure to hold free and open exchanges in each community in the district does the voters a great disservice,” he said.The Third Essex and Middlesex Senate District includes Lynn, Marblehead, Nahant, Swampscott, some precincts in Saugus and two wards in Melrose.”We have many significant issues facing the commonwealth, not having free, public debates between the two candidates is absurd. I think Sen. McGee is thinking more about self-preservation than his duty to the voters.” Dent said Monday.McGee said he agreed to the LACC after Dent’s campaign workers contacted his campaign office.”We agreed to a Lynn chamber debate and to appear together before the Salem News editorial board. The Lynn chamber represents other communities, not just Lynn,” he said Monday. “I continue to knock on doors and meet with people throughout the district. I’m going to forums and working hard to hear the important issues that voters face in this election cycle.”McGee was elected to the state House of Representatives in 1994 and to the Senate in 2002, taking the seat vacated by Edward Clancy Jr. who successfully waged a campaign to become mayor of Lynn for the next eight years.