Thursday, 4:30 PM
Patrick again rejects Healey's call for a 1-on-1 debate
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Democrat Deval Patrick rebuffed Republican Kerry Healey renewed request this afternoon for a one-on-one debate the day after a heated forum that included all four gubernatorial candidates at Faneuil Hall.
"Thank you Kerry Healey, I answered your question last night," Patrick said during a brief press conference at the University of Massachusetts Club in Boston. "The voters will choose among four candidates, not just two."
Healey's campaign circulated a letter today that she had written to Patrick asking to meet head-to-head.
"You have never struck me as someone who has backed down from a challenge, so I'd be surprised if you chose to stand on the sidelines now," Healey wrote in the letter. "With four candidates on stage and limited time, a wide-ranging policy discussion has been largely crowded out."
Healey, who has been trailing in most polls, made a similar request during Thursday night's four-candidate debate that included independent Christy Mihos and Green Rainbow nominee Grace Ross.
"I'm not looking to divide anybody," Patrick responded. "I want everybody to have a place at the table. And respect is shown, it seems to me, in all kinds of ways, including by including all of the candidates in all of the public discourse. So there is a difference there as well."
