Four minutes. This small span of time can make a big difference in a political race as tight as this year’s senatorial primary.
When Sen. John Giannetti arrived four minutes late to a debate against challenger Jim Rosapepe on Channel 8’s NewsTalk Friday due to traffic, he handed the former regent about 15 minutes of exclusive airtime, in which Rosapepe detailed his plans to fund local schools and install cameras around College Park without Giannetti there to fight back.
In the first segment of the show, Rosapepe’s barbs went largely unchallenged – prompting host Bruce DePuyt to quiet the negative remarks until Giannetti was “there to defend himself.” But by the time the incumbent senator showed up, the candidates were able to face off, sparring on each other’s experience but largely ignoring other issues such as higher education.
Giannetti didn’t have much of a chance to expound on his platform after he arrived, and the two focused on attacking each other’s legislative record.
Giannetti said the former regent and state delegate was only able to pass one bill while serving a term in the House of Delegates.
“There’s a very big difference from the way my opponent and I handle being a legislator,” Giannetti said during the show. “When I was down in Annapolis, I passed 40 pieces of legislation and that’s hard.”
“It’s true we do have a difference here,” Rosapepe quickly responded. “I don’t pay as much attention to getting my name on bills. I pay more attention to working with other people.”
Giannetti also called Rosapepe’s service as ambassador to Romania under President Bill Clinton into question because Rosapepe had received some of the lowest evaluations of any ambassador in the past few years. Rosapepe defended his performance as ambassador, citing press releases from officials he had worked with during his position as ambassador.
“As our ambassador, Jim was hard-charging advocate for President Clinton’s foreign policy agenda. No one should be surprised that he ruffled some bureaucratic feathers. The bottom line is that he successfully served President Clinton and did a great job,” said John Podesta, former chief of staff under Clinton.
In between snipes, the candidates were able to highlight key accolades from their political past and get into some of the issues on the campaign trail.
Giannetti touted the 40 bills he had either sponsored or co-sponsored that passed during his tenure, one of which extends hate crime coverage to the gay and transgendered communities, and another piece of drunk driving legislation that the senator called a “landmark as far as the country goes.”
In an interview yesterday, Rosapepe criticized Giannetti’s prized legislation.
“Most of the bills that he points to are narrow, special interest bills,” Rosapepe said. “None of the bills he points to deal with improving local schools, the university, park land or health care.”
Giannetti said he was proud of the legislation he was able to pass and that they demonstrated active leadership.
“The district has seen a change in the way their senator is active in their district. Everyone said it’s a breath of fresh air,” Giannetti said. “What we are trying to do is complete the changes we made four years ago and bring on a whole new set of delegates that are well-educated, a diverse slate that represents the diversity of Prince George’s county.”
Rosapepe called into question his understanding of the constituents of the 21st District, stating several times that Giannetti was “out of touch” with voters.
“This is a progressive district who is used to having progressive representation,” Rosapepe said. “Case after case [Giannetti] votes with Governor Ehrlich on major issues whether they relate to the budget or stem cell research.”
One example that Rosapepe brought into the open was Giannetti voting to legalize assault weapons while representing a district enduring a crime wave.
“People think that’s outrageous, I think that’s outrageous,” Rosapepe told DePuyt.
Giannetti countered Rosapepe’s remarks saying, “You can’t be a legislator that simply votes on the title of the bill.”
In an interview after the debate, Giannetti added, “The bill was so poorly written that the police testified against the [assault weapons ban] bill. I had to kill it.”
Giannetti said he twice voted against his own hate crimes bill because it wasn’t worded properly, and only voted in favor of the bill once his amendments to change the wording had been adopted.
The candidates touched on issues such as energy use and environmental preservation but were unable to develop their argument due to a lack of time.
“I thought it went fine, we had a half hour. You can’t cover a whole lot in a half hour,” Rosapape said.
Despite Giannetti’s lateness and the limitations it placed on the debate, both candidates said the event went well.
“We were so excited about the result of the debate that we canceled activities and had a campaign celebration in D.C.,” Giannetti said.
Contact reporter Steven Overly at overlydbk@gmail.com.
