Tempe 11

Candidate Appearances

Candidates will have the opportunity to speak for (5) five minutes on Channel 11 prior to each scheduled City Council meeting effective January 10, 2008 through May 15.  Candidates must meet in the Council meeting by 3:50 p.m. for recording at 4:00 p.m. on each Council date in order to be included in the 5:00 broadcasts.  Numbers will be drawn to determine order of appearances.

 Candidate Debate/Forum Guidelines

  • Requests for televised debates/forums will be accepted on a “first come, first served” basis by Media Services Supervisor Skip Neeley (480-350-8474) at Tempe 11.  Dates and times are subject to the city’s council chambers and staff availability.

  • Tempe 11 will work with other Valley cities (during non-municipal elections) to be sure there is not duplication in debates/forums being produced.  If a debate/forum is already being produced by another city, Tempe will use that existing debate/forum for air over Tempe 11.

  •  Requests will be limited to two debates/forums for each election (Primary & General) per requesting group or organization per election.

  • Televised debates/forums will begin at least two (2) weeks prior to the mailing of early voting ballots.

  •  One televised debate/forum opportunity per week will be available to a requesting group and will be videotaped in the City Hall Council Chambers with a time limit not to exceed a maximum of two hours for a city council candidate debate/forum and one and one half hours for a mayoral candidate debate/forum.  These guidelines are designed to afford more groups/organizations the opportunity to sponsor debates/forums.  Specific dates and times will be agreed upon between staff and the requesting group or organization after consideration of City staff and facility availability.

  •  Groups/organizations must invite all candidates to participate.  A minimum of 51 percent of all candidates must be in attendance in order for the debate/forum to be televised (If combining candidates for various local, county, state or federal offices, there must be 51 percent of all candidates per office participating).  Prior to televising the debate/forum, groups/organizations must provide confirmation to the City in writing that all candidates have been invited to participate.

  •  Each sponsored group or organization will be responsible for debate/forum content and process.  The city encourages every group/organization to conduct each debate/forum in an equitable and fair manner.  However, it is every group’s/organization’s responsibility to achieve this goal.

  • Each debate/forum will be replayed a minimum of two (2) times during the following week at the discretion of Tempe 11’s Program Director.

  •  If the City receives more requests than time available, groups/organizations will be referred to Cox Communications.

  • The following disclaimer will be run periodically throughout each televised debate/forum:  “The City of Tempe and Tempe 11 is not responsible for debate/forum content and process.  The sponsoring organization is responsible for the process and general content while candidates are responsible for their specific views.”

Rev. 1/2/04