Scott Soffen, congressional Libertarian candidate for District 7
Scott Soffen, congressional Libertarian candidate for District 7.
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Scott Soffen, congressional Libertarian candidate for District 7 - Video
TALLAHASSEE -- With Florida's gubernatorial debates getting underway, Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie on Thursday filed a lawsuit to try to get included in a televised debate next week in Broward County.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his Democratic challenger, former Gov. Charlie Crist, are scheduled to debate three times before the Nov. 4 election, with the first taking place Friday at the South Florida studios of Telemundo.
Wyllie is suing over the second debate, produced by the Florida Press Association and Leadership Florida and slated to be held Wednesday at Broward College. He and seven other candidates didn't make the cut because their poll numbers among likely voters weren't high enough to meet criteria set by the debate producers.
Now Wyllie is suing the Florida Press Association, Leadership Florida and Broward College, arguing that it is in the public interest for him to be included.
"The Adrian Wyllie campaign is 'serious' in every sense of the word, and is entitled to participate fully in the electoral process, on an equal footing with the Republican and Democrat candidates for governor," the complaint said.
When the press association and Leadership Florida first announced their 2014 debate plans last year, they noted in a press release that to be included, a candidate must have the support of at least 15 percent of likely voters, as determined by a poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research. That 15 percent would include the benefit of a margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Mason-Dixon conducted a poll last month that showed Scott with 43 percent, Crist with 41 percent and Wyllie with 4 percent.
But Wyllie's complaint argues that he is now reaching double digits in some other polls. Wyllie said Thursday the bar "used to be set as low as 7 percent --- and it seems to be a moving target, based upon (being) just out of the reach of any third-party candidate."
But Florida Press Association President and CEO Dean Ridings said the qualifying data were known well in advance. (Disclosure: The News Service of Florida is an associate member of the press group.)
"We have maintained the same criteria since 2010," Ridings said. "We've not changed it, and it would not be fair to the other seven candidates who've qualified to run for governor if we were to change our criteria in midstream."
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Libertarian Wyllie sues to get into Florida governor debate
Libertarian Party candidate for governor Adrian Wyllie has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to join the Oct. 15 Florida gubernatorial debate.
Wyllie claims in the lawsuit filed Thursday that his rights are being infringed because of a rule requiring participants to show at least 15 percent support in a reputable opinion poll.
Wyllie said the rule he understood was 12 percent, although the 15 percent figure has been in place since August 2013.
The lawsuit is pending in federal court in Fort Lauderdale.
The Oct. 15 debate between Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist is to take place at Broward College.
Also see: Mother of Orange County man killed speaks to WESH 2
Scott and Crist have their first debate Friday at a Miramar television station, also without Wyllie. A third debate is set Oct. 21 in Jacksonville.
LIST: Florida among America's most corrupt states
LIST: Florida among America's most corrupt states
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Libertarian Adrian Wyllie sues to join Oct. 15 debate
WILMINGTON Democratic U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan and Republican rival Thom Tillis used every opportunity in their last scheduled televised debate Thursday night to blast each others legislative records and reinforce themes from television ads heading into the final weeks of their tight race.
It was their third debate and second this week, but Libertarian nominee Sean Haugh joined them for the first time during the hourlong program at a Wilmington television studio aired elsewhere in the state.
While Haugh promoted his limited government, anti-war platform, the debates main attractions remained Tillis and Hagan in a race considered to be one of a handful that will determine which party holds the Senate majority in 2015.
Heres the rundown on the debates major themes:
CATCH PHRASES
In her opening statement, Hagan said, North Carolina needs a common sense voice, somebody who will always put the best interest of our state before anything else before proceeding to tell viewers that Tillis puts the interests of the Republican Party and its allies ahead of the people. Its reiterating her strategy to link Tillis to the unpopular GOP-led legislature.
She mentioned at least three times that under Tillis leadership as state House speaker, the legislature let expire the states film production tax credit, a significant issue for the regions large film and television industry. Its been replaced by a less generous grant program.
Tillis said at least a half-dozen times that Hagan was a rubber stamp for President Barack Obamas policies, which Tillis said were dampening the economic recovery. Hes been laser-focused on connecting the first-term senator to the president. If we want to change the presidents policies, we have to change our senator, he said.
MEETING MISSTEPS
Tillis kept harping on Hagan for her attendance record at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings this year and emphasized Hagans acknowledgement that she missed a February meeting because of a scheduled campaign fundraising reception in New York. The closed meeting on current and future worldwide threats to national security had been rescheduled for the afternoon, Hagan and her campaign said.
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Libertarian joins Hagan, Tillis in final U.S. Senate debate
Shut out of televised debates, Libertarian candidate for governor Adrian Wyllie filed a lawsuit Thursday that seeks to force the Florida Press Association to allow him onstage with Gov. Rick Scott and Democrat Charlie Crist, the Miami Herald has learned.
Wyllie could not be immediately reached for comment, but the head of the association confirmed Wyllie filed suit in Broward County, where the debate takes place Wednedsay at Broward College in conjunction with Leadership Florida.
Dean Ridings, president and CEO of the association, said Wyllie didnt make the cut because he failed to register 15 percent support in at least one statewide credible public-opinion survey from a nonpartisan polling organization by Sept. 30.
But we want to be fair and consistent, Ridings said. There are 10 candidates for governor and why would it be fair to them to change our criteria?
Ridings said the criteria for candidate participation has been in place since before the 2010 elections. He noted that Wyllie, who garnered as much as 13 percent support in a recent poll from the Republican-leaning polling firm 0ptimus, appears to be improving his standing in the polls.
But its not enough.
Were not going to change criteria in mid-stream because we like a candidate and hes doing better, Ridings said.
Wyllie is planning a protest at another televised debate to be held Friday at Telemundo in Miramar, where Crist and Scott will face off for the first time. The debate will be broadcast at 7 p.m. that night.
The third and final debate between the two major candidates takes place Oct. 21 in Jacksonville.
Crist wanted more debates, but Scott would only agree to three. Scott's running mate, Lt. Governor Carlos Lopez-Cantera, has also ignored calls from Crist's running mate, Annette Taddeo, to debate on television.
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Excluded from Fla gov debates, Libertarian sues