KGW Northwest NewsChannel 8 and The Oregonian announced today that we will sponsor two gubernatorial debates in April.

We have been working for several weeks to set up these debates. For some time it looked like Governor Ted Kulongoski might not debate this year. But I held out hopes that if the governor agreed to debate, he would agree to our debate. I'm pleased to say that the governor agreed to debate once we found a mutually agreed upon date.

Today we announced that the Democratic debate will take place April 10 live in our studios from 7-8 p.m.

The Republican candidates earlier agreed to debate on April 24 in our studios. That debate, too, will be aired live from 7-8 p.m.

NewsChannel 8 and The Oregonian have co-sponsored debates for several election cycles. We are pleased that we can provide these forums so that Oregonians can see the candidates respond to the important questions facing the state.