The Halls Republican Club would like to have Phil Ballard and John Whitehead to debate or at least answer questions from the individuals that attend the November 14th meeting. Sources from the Deathstar have informed us that Ballard has been pressuring the officers of the club to NOT conduct a debate or even to allow for questions. Ballard’s ideal situation is that he and Whitehead be given 5-10 minutes to make a speech and then that is all. Ballard has even resorted to having an employee of another fee office contact the club’s leadership to put the hammer down on not allowing the candidates to interact with the people.

I left a message for Ballard on Thursday afternoon and he has not returned the call. I contacted John Whitehead and he did return my call. Whitehead said that he is in support of a debate. He would even like to take questions from those in attendance. “Just because you can give a speech only demonstrates that you can memorize a few words and sentences.” He went on to say, “Answering questions demonstrates that you understand the operation of the office and the duties assigned to the next Property Assessor”