Howard to Cracolici: Let's Debate

Candidate seeks six debates around the city

NEWBURGH - Democratic mayoral challenger Lillie Howard - fresh from a courtroom victory over City Councilman Sal Cracolici, the machine-backed candidate - today issued a call for a series of six debates between the two before the September 18 primary election. The winner of the primary will be the Democrat facing the incumbent Republican mayor, Nick Valentine, in the November election.

Cracolici had sought to avoid the primary by petitioning the court to have Howard thrown off the ballot. A decision last week found that Cracolici's case - brought by a campaign aide - was completely meritless.

Howard said each debate should center on a specific area of community concern and that they should take place in a variety of neighborhoods representative of the city as a whole. She proposed individual, dedicated debates dealing with the specific issues of housing, recreation, police-community relations, redevelopment, the role of the community in education, and building the tax base.

Howard called on the local cable carrier, Time Warner, to carry the debates on local cable TV.