The debate will be broadcast from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Longtime Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell will square off with his outspoken opponent, Deputy Francisco Rivero, in their first public debate on “The Law Show.”
Host Herb Gura will moderate and ask questions of the two and then open phone lines so listeners can participate with questions of their own.
Since Rivero announced his candidacy last fall, he has criticized Mitchell’s running of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and leveled charges against Mitchell that include racial profiling and cronyism. Mitchell has countered that Rivero’s criticisms are false and politically motivated.
Rivero recently was a solo guest on Gura’s show. When Gura offered Mitchell equal time, the sheriff instead requested a face-to-face debate. After some back and forth, Gura was able get the candidates to agree on the Feb. 6 date.
When station management decided that an hour would not allow sufficient time for the event, T. Watts, host of the KPFZ music program “In the Free Zone” – which normally follows “The Law Show” at 6 p.m. – agreed to allow his show to be preempted so that the debate could be extended to two hours.
A recent debate between the sheriff’s candidates held by county law enforcement assocations was closed to the public. Some citizens objected to being excluded and complained about a lack of transparency.
Gura said he hopes this program will help satisfy public curiosity about these two men and shed some light on their political differences.
Listeners can phone in to the station during the live broadcast at 707-263-3435 or at 800-763-5739 (800-763-KPFZ).
KPFZ will rebroadcast the debate from 10 a.m. to noon on Monday, Feb. 8, and again from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 12.
Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .
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