For more than three months, New Brunswick Mayoral candidate Charlie Kratovil has been requesting a debate with his opponent, the 27-year incumbent Mayor Jim Cahill.

But with less than three weeks until the November 6 election, Cahill’s team has not responded to these requests.

Instead, the Mayor’s campaign ignored five consecutive written requests to arrange debates, which have been sent by Charlie’s campaign manager every Wednesday since September 19.

“The people of New Brunswick deserve a full-time Mayor who will put the people and their needs first,” said Kratovil. “They also deserve to hear from both candidates in a series of debates.”

“Clearly, my opponent is too busy splitting his time between public service, representing his other clients, and campaigning for the first time in almost a decade,” continued Kratovil.

Charlie is the first opponent to challenge Cahill since 2010. In contrast to the incumbent, who also works for the local government of Milltown and runs a private law firm on the side, Charlie has promised to work full-time as Mayor, without holding any side jobs or business interests.

When Charlie announced his candidacy in June, the seven-term incumbent told reporters that the campaign “will be a discussion of ideas on how we can continue to improve the quality of life for New Brunswick residents.” But since then, Cahill has failed to lay out a platform of his own.

By contrast, Charlie’s website Charlie4Change.com includes a comprehensive issue-based platform and the videos and full text of the speeches he has given on the campaign trail.

“If my opponent truly wants a discussion of ideas, he should agree to debate me so that we can both discuss our ideas to address the Parking Authority’s $390 million dollar debt, improve our failing water infrastructure, and end the unfortunate corruption that his administration has brought us,” said Kratovil.