Five debates to come for mayor race

LYNN – Mayoral challenger Timothy Phelan suffered a setback Tuesday when he lost the preliminary election to incumbent Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, and he has roughly seven weeks and five debates to change voters’ minds.But do debates make an impact in a social media-savvy kind of world?”I think yes,” said former Mayor Thomas Costin. “They do, and it’s up to the candidate to make it interesting enough that people take notice.”Costin, who at age 29 was the city’s youngest mayor, served in the corner office from 1956 to 1961. He said debates are an opportunity for candidates to push their vision for the city and show who they are.”Of course it can be a double-edged sword,” he cautioned.He said if a candidate can’t articulate their vision or “doesn’t have the fire in their belly” to get their point across, a debate could harm them in the long run.Kennedy’s campaign manager, Loretta Cuffe O’Donnell, agreed that if a candidate isn’t a good debater it can hurt rather than enhance a campaign.Both Phelan and Kennedy are veteran debaters. Phelan said he sees them as a vehicle to reach different segments of the population, which he likes because “everyone has their area of concern.”In that case he is in luck, because the mayoral debate schedule covers The Highlands, the business community, East Lynn, West Lynn and Ward 1.Phelan, however, noted that the debates are not like presidential events in which one focuses on domestic policy and another on foreign policy. Local debate watchers will see crossover and see the same questions asked in different debates, he said.”It’s not Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, it’s not TV that everyone is watching but it’s important,” Phelan said. “And I do think that people pay attention.”O’Donnell said she remembers when debates were held weekly and long before Facebook, Twitter or even TV, candidates would gather at the local Hibernian Club or Italian-American Club and have impromptu debates.”I think that’s coming back a bit,” she said. “I know they are very much more important than signs because I think it shows who the candidates are.”She said she does feel sorry for the candidate that is not a strong debater because it can make a candidate look weak.”I’m backing a candidate who is good at it,” she added.”With me it’s what you see is what you get,” Phelan said. “I’m very candid, very direct. If someone asks me a direct question I will give them a direct answer.”When asked if he ever received a question that knocked him off his game, Phelan chuckled. He said he was asked a question during a debate earlier this year and he took a minute to reflect on his answer. His daughter told him later he didn’t handle the question well, he said.”It was honest,” he said with a chuckle. “And I need honest feedback.”O’Donnell said she and Kennedy don’t do any post-debate play-by-play.”Judy does her own debates,” O’Donnell said. “I’m working for her because I think she did a good job with the budget and my taxes didn’t go up. I don’t care how she combs her hair or handles herself in a debate.”