Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce President Robert S. Carl Jr., who’s moderating his organization’s 9th Congressional District debate, promised that the Oct. 20 event – the only one announced so far – will be nonpartisan and impartial, with questions “as short and sweet as possible” to get to the issues.
The debate is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Penn State-Schuylkill’s John E. Morgan Auditorium.
Besides questions from the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, he invited the general public to email their own to him at rcarl@schuylkillchamber.org. Although he’ll determine what he’ll ultimately ask Republican Congressman Dan Meuser and Democrat challenger Rachel Wallace, Carl gave his word that he’ll look at every submission.
In an interview on Friday, he addressed concerns about the capacity of the 250-seat venue at Penn State-Schuylkill and dismissed concerns expressed online that he might favor Meuser.
After releasing information about the event at 2 p.m. last Monday, the Chamber took registration requests. The John E. Morgan Auditorium was fully booked by 5 p.m., and about 80 people were on a waiting list as of Friday.
This has led to calls online for a larger space as well as speculation on social media that Chamber members and their friends had first dibs. But Carl emphasized that registration was on a first-come, first-serve basis and that no one was cross-checked or allowed to reserve blocks of seats.
He said he started looking for a venue before the candidates agreed to debate. He first approached the larger Orwigsburg Veterans Community Memorial Hall, but it wasn’t available. The Morgan Auditorium was his next choice because, like his first, it has “very strong” audiovisual capabilities.
While the location won’t change, he expects people will be able to watch the debate at home. “We think the most likely way is going to be streaming,” he said, but added that the Chamber is also in talks with TV stations about doing a live broadcast.
Pledging Neutrality
Meuser’s campaign committee has been a dues-paying member of the Chamber since 2019 and has given it about $12,000 in donations exceeding $1,000, as well as $600 for a 2020 event sponsorship, Federal Election Commission records show. Evelyn Datte, the congressman’s district coordinator, is on the Chamber’s board.
Carl said any candidate or their campaign organization can join the Chamber.
While he acknowledged that some people say he’s political, he said he goes out of his way to be fair and balanced. “I do not go to any kind of political party dinners,” he said. “I do not personally contribute to political party candidates.”
He added that the Chamber is picking up the entire cost of the debate and has never had a political action committee, endorsed candidates, or donated to their campaigns.
The organization, he said, has developed “a tremendous relationship” with Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro as they’ve worked with him to expand and strengthen the child care workforce, he noted.
Invitations and format
Debate invitations were emailed to Wallace and Meuser at the same time, and both knew the time and date when the Chamber would release the details and take registrations, Carl said. He also briefed the candidates on the format.
The Chamber will come up with 20 debate topics. The candidates will be made aware of them but not which nine or 10 make the final cut or the specific questions they’ll be asked.
“I am not into personal attacks or whatever people are doing in their personal life,” Carl said. “We’ve got to get to the federal issues … and what elected congressional leaders do to make a difference.”
Wallace and Meuser will take turns drawing a question and answering it. The opponent will be allowed a rebuttal before drawing and answering the next question.
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