By Scott Jewett, Libertarian Candidate for Governor of Florida
For the first time since 1974, Floridians are on track to choose their next governor without seeing the leading candidates debate. That should bother every voter, regardless of party.
David Jolly and Byron Donalds have spent weeks blaming each other and negotiating through press releases. Both campaigns should apologize.
A governor doesn't get to choose which problems land on his desk. A candidate for governor shouldn't get to choose never to be challenged face-to-face. Florida faces hard questions on insurance, property taxes and housing costs. What would each candidate do? What would they veto? And what happens when someone six feet away challenges their assumptions?
A campaign ad tells you what a candidate wants you to hear. A debate shows you how a candidate thinks.
Republicans and Democrats also keep acting as if they're the only choices. They aren't. I'm the Libertarian candidate, a businessman rather than a career politician, and my campaign is about affordability: homes young families can afford, retirees not driven out by taxes and insurance, and workers keeping more of what they earn.
Those ideas deserve to be challenged too. Put me on the stage, ask me the hard questions, then ask Mr. Donalds and Mr. Jolly the same ones. Let voters decide.
Debates aren't supposed to be risk-free. They're supposed to reveal something. When candidates seeking this much power won't defend their ideas in public, voters are entitled to ask: What are they trying to hide?
Maybe nothing. There's an easy way to prove it.
Mr. Donalds, Mr. Jolly: stop arguing. Show up.
I will.