Shimmer of celebrity betrays `average' voters with questions

It's become standard for debate hosts to spice up the format by including questions from ordinary people, a shout-out to the masses, if you will.

But the ``average voters" featured on last night's Boston Herald/FOX25 debate were anything but average.

Take the woman from Medfield wringing her hands over teacher shortages. On any other day, this suburban everymom is the wife of Red Sox ace Curt Schilling, a golden-haired society-page star with her own foundation to fight skin cancer and photographers documenting her every step at charity road races.

But in last night's debate, to the astonishment of viewers at home, she was merely ``Shonda Schilling from Medfield."

FOX25's Maria Stephanos might as well have said Teresa Heinz Kerry from Beacon Hill or Carly Simon from West Tisbury. But no: ``Lieutenant Governor Healey, we're talking merit pay here," deadpanned Stephanos.

FOX25 was not finished with regular people, because Jasper White -- lord of lobster, sultan of scallops -- had a pressing query about fishing policy.

There he was, in chef whites, addressing the camera from the steamy heart of the Summer Shack kitchen: ``What will you, as governor, do to protect our farmers and fishermen while at the same time promoting sustainable fishing and agriculture?"

Responding third, Deval Patrick couldn't resist a salute.

`` I think we can all agree," he said, ``Jasper's cooking is phenomenal, really terrific."