Rivals push Coakley for debates

Two of the candidates, Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca and City Year cofounder Alan Khazei, are so eager to debate that today they plan to make a public offer to pick up the considerable production costs associated with staging a televised debate. And another candidate, US Representative Michael E. Capuano, said in an interview: “I’ve been dying for debates. I’ll do five a week.’’

The Democratic primary is four weeks from tomorrow, and the candidates have debated on television once, in an Oct. 26 event sponsored by the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.

Coakley’s campaign says she will agree to one more televised debate, but has yet to say when or where that might be and has not accepted invitations from two groups trying to pull together such events.

“We are looking forward to another televised debate,’’ said Coakley’s spokeswoman, Alex Zaroulis. “Right now we are in the process of working out all the details.’’

The other candidates say that is not enough. “Massachusetts is a great place where you have a rich history of debates for US Senate seats,’’ said Michael Meehan, a senior adviser to Khazei. “The idea that you have one or two debates is just ridiculous.’’

The Oct. 26 debate was seen by about 6 percent of adults in the Boston media market, according to television viewership numbers. There have also been a handful of nontelevised forums featuring the candidates, but those have typically attracted only several hundred attendees.

Coakley, who is trying to become the first female US senator from Massachusetts, last night was the only candidate not to appear at a campaign forum in Amherst sponsored by the League of Women Voters, citing what her spokeswoman described as “a longtime personal commitment that she could not break.’’

Coakley is planning to participate Thursday on a WTKK-FM radio debate and to attend two upcoming forums, her spokeswoman said.

Front-runners often try to minimize the number of campaign debates to avoid missteps; challengers often demand more debates, hoping to change a campaign’s dynamic.

“Debates carry an element of danger to them,’’ said Jeffrey M. Berry, a political science professor at Tufts University. “A badly flawed answer, an awkward phrase, can be a defining moment for a candidate. So from Coakley’s perspective, no debates is probably a good strategy.’’

Some key Democrats are eager to see the candidates debate in order to help voters in what is expected to be a low-turnout primary to choose a nominee. The Democratic nominee will face a Republican in a special election Jan. 18, but Massachusetts has not elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972.

“A couple more debates would be warranted and deserved,’’ said Paul G. Kirk Jr., the interim US Senator from Massachusetts and longtime cochairman of the national Commission on Presidential Debates. “They are informative. And oftentimes revealing.’’

Kirk, who was appointed by Governor Deval Patrick to fill the Senate seat until the special election, has pledged not to endorse a candidate.

Aides to the Senate campaigns have for weeks been in discussions with Boston-area media organizations about airing US Senate debates. But the campaigns are now also expressing aggravation with media outlets, which, they say, have told them that, because of competitive interests or financial problems, they have not come together to sponsor any major statewide debates. One possible factor: November is sweeps month, when television stations are often loath to broadcast potentially low-viewership specials like political debates.

The Pagliuca and Khazei campaigns are planning to send a letter today offering to help media organizations pay for at least two statewide televised debates, one possibly at Faneuil Hall and the other in Western Massachusetts. The costs would come out of the campaign accounts, and the campaigns insist they would have no control over the debate format or the questions asked.

The campaigns are hoping those debates would be broadcast on all television affiliates - which has been the practice during other major political races - as opposed to a debate that is sponsored by one station and only airs on that station.

“We’re very frustrated,’’ said Will Keyser, communications director for Pagliuca. “Frankly we hope to raise awareness of this issue through this letter, with the hopes that it will drive some cooperation and allow for a much-needed forum for voters to see the candidates.’’

At least one network affiliate, WCVB-TV, is trying to sponsor its own debate on Dec. 1, which would also be aired by a partner in Western Massachusetts. The debate would be moderated by coanchor Ed Harding, and questions would come from a panel of journalists, including the station’s political reporter, Janet Wu.

“It’s a major interest,’’ said Andrew Vrees, the station’s news director. “It’s a seat that Senator Kennedy held for 47 years, and there’s a huge public interest in it.’’

Another group of media outlets is also trying to coordinate a debate scheduled for the following day. Coakley is the only candidate who has not agreed to participate, according to the campaigns.

“We hope that all candidates agree to participate and it will be a reality sometime before the election,’’ said Iris Adler, executive editor at NECN who is helping coordinate a consortium that she said includes NECN, the Globe, WBUR, and WGBH. “We all feel there’s a very strong need for a second debate.’’

The Globe has also been in discussions with news organizations and area universities about sponsoring a US Senate debate. Several other local television stations said they have no plans to sponsor primary debates.

“We currently do not have any plans to televise a Massachusetts Senate debate,’’ said Maggie Hennessey-Nees, a spokeswoman for Fox 25.

“We don’t have any plans in the works,’’ said Ro Dooley Webster, spokeswoman for WBZ-TV, which is planning a general election debate.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.