NEWS; DEBATE COMMISSION IMPRESSED WITH UNIVERSITY

Officials from the Committee on Presidential Debates were impressed with their campus visit when they met University and local public officials for the first time Thursday, April 23, as part of a preliminary inspection process to vet applicants for hosting a presidential debate in 2008.

University President Stuart Rabinowitz, Board of Trustees Chairman John D. Miller, Director of Public Safety Ed Bracht and other senior administrators all met with committee executive producer Marty Slutsky, two other debate producers, Tammy Johnston and Rory Davies. Secret Service agents and Nassau County Police Insp. Robert Turk also attended.

Many local elected officials attended the meeting, including Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray, State Sens. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City).

The commission opened the beginning of the meeting to the press, which allowed President Rabinowitz to thank the commission for coming and for introducing executive producer Slutsky.

Slutsky gave a brief statement: “This is a truly impressive gathering of people. I truly feel and I will convey to the commission my impression that we have the backing of the entire area and all of the officials, which is very important.”

The production teams do not make the decision over who gets to host the debates. They report their findings to the commission, who makes the final decision on which four sites host the debates, three of which are presidential, and the fourth between the vice presidential candidates.

Reporters were not permitted to ask questions during the public part of the meeting. After a break, Rabinowitz and the public officials took questions from the press outside the meeting, which continued behind closed doors.

“This is all about the education of young people,” Rabinowitz said. “They will be involved not just at the actual debate.”

There will be a lot of internships, work, externships and things to do, where students can learn about the political process and the press, he added.

The closed-door meeting moved outside as well, and it included a tour of campus facilities such as the Physical Fitness Center and David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex, which is the proposed site of the actual debate.

There is bipartisan support for the debate to be held at the University, Sen. Skelos said. “I’m hopeful that the selection committee will see that this is a totally appropriate location, especially with the history of Long Island and the birth of the suburbs,” he added.

"We are in the New York media market, so that would be great for coverage overall,” Suozzi said. “Levittown is the first suburban community in the United States and, as a result, suburban politics are getting to be more and more important in presidential politics.”

“It is a long and detailed process,” said Melissa Connolly, Director of University Relations. “They were looking at everything, even in closets. I believe it went well.”

The University is one of nineteen sites that applied to host the debates, and is the only one in New York State to do so. Other applicants include places such as the Metropolitan Exposition Recreation Commission in Portland, Ore., and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark.