Blanco, Jindal, Candidates for Louisiana Governor, to Debate Sunday, Nov. 2 at Centenary College in Statewide CABL/LPB Live Televised Event

SHREVEPORT, LA—Centenary College will be the site Sunday, Nov. 2, for a live televised debate between the two candidates for Louisiana governor, Kathleen Blanco and Bobby Jindal. The debate is sponsored by the Council for a Better Louisiana and Louisiana Public Broadcasting, which will broadcast the program statewide over the LPB network from 7 to 8 p.m.

It will be televised on LPB’s stations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria, and on WLAE-TV32 and WYES-TV in New Orleans. In addition, the debate will be simulcast on public radio stations WRKF-FM in Baton Rouge, KEDM-FM in Monroe, and KDAQ-FM in Shreveport and its Red River Radio Network.

“We are very excited about holding this final debate in our series to Shreveport,” said Beth Courtney, president and CEO of LPB. “Both LPB and CABL serve the entire state and we felt it was important that our debates help tie our state together by bringing these forums to north Louisiana, south Louisiana and New Orleans.”

Moderators will be Courtney and Barry Erwin, CABL's president and chief executive officer. Members of the news media serving as panelists will be John Hill of the Gannett News Service and Robert Travis Scott of the New Orleans Times Picayune.

Because of security precautions and limited seating, the debate will not be open to the general public. However, as in past debates presented by LPB and CABL, citizens will have the chance to question the candidates about their position on issues by sending an e-mail to decision@lpb.org or by submitting questions on the special election page on the LPB website at www.lpb.org. Those who submit questions are asked to include their name and the city in which they live.

The collaborative CABL/LPB program is the fourth and final live debate prior to the Nov. 15 general election. Others were broadcast from the Old State Capitol and the LPB studios in Baton Rouge and from Tulane University in New Orleans.

The debate will be held in the Anderson Auditorium of Centenary's Hurley Music Building. Student members of the Centenary Maroon Jackets honor organization will serve as hosts for the event.

“This is an extremely important election for Louisiana, and we are pleased to again team with CABL to bring voters a series of substantive and informative debates,” Courtney said. “Our state is facing many serious issues and it’s vital that citizens have an opportunity to hear directly from candidates about their positions on these matters.”

CABL's Erwin said, “We think it is very important for voters across Louisiana to have an opportunity to find out where candidates stand on important issues. Our goal in this debate is to focus on these issues and ask questions that will be useful to voters.” CABL is a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide organization working on issues in the public interest.

The LPB/CABL debates, "Decision 2003: The Race for Governor," are made possible though underwriting support from AARP-Louisiana, AEP/Southwestern Electric Power and Liskow and Lewis professional law corporation. For more information, contact Erwin at CABL (225-344-2225) or Bob Neese at LPB (225-767-4274) or 1-800-272-8161, ext. 4274.

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