San Luis Obispo police and firefighter union leaders have scuttled a Dave Congalton-sponsored debate on his KVEC radio show about the two ballot measures before the voters in the City of San Luis Obispo, according to Citizens for SLO, the grassroots group supporting the measures.

If passed, Measure A would pave the way for pension reform and Measure B would repeal binding arbitration.

Congalton has been trying to arrange a debate between the proponents and opponents of the measures, but when firefighter union president Erik Baskin and police union president Matt Blackstone learned that City Council Member Andrew Carter would be representing the "Yes" side, they decided not to participate.

According to Congalton, as discussed on his radio show on Aug. 3, Baskin and Blackstone would be willing to debate someone else from the "Yes" side, but not Carter.

Congalton confirmed this in an e-mail to Carter in which he wrote, “They have made it clear that they will not send anyone for a radio debate if you're the opponent.’’

“It’s hardly surprising the unions are cancelling the debate,” said Lauren Brown, co-chair of Citizens for SLO, the group that is campaigning for a Yes vote on Measures A and B. “They know that Andrew Carter is speaking the truth about the damage binding arbitration has done to the city budget and about the need for pension reform.  Andrew has been talking about these issues for over two years, and the unions aren’t able to counter the facts he presents.”

Carter, who has been talking openly and frequently since March 2009 about the negative effects of binding arbitration and the need for pension reform said, “I’m disappointed that Matt and Erik won’t debate me.  I never realized I was that intimidating.”

A Yes vote on Measure A supports pension reform.  A Yes vote on Measure B repeals binding arbitration. The two measures are before San Luis Obispo city voters this month in a special mail-in election. Ballots are already in voters’ hands and must be returned to the county registrar by Aug. 30 at 8 p.m.

“Erik Baskin and Matt Blackstone’s refusal to debate Carter on the Congalton Show is not their first attempt to dictate the terms of discussion on Measures A and B," Citizens for SLO co-chair John Ewan said. "They dictated the format of the forums sponsored ... by the League of Women Voters and by the ... Rotary Clubs.”

Ewan continued, “Now, they are flat out refusing to debate Andrew Carter because they know their arguments are based on fear, not facts.  When they claim that ‘people are going to die’ if binding arbitration is repealed and that City Council has ‘declared war’ on city employees, it’s clear they don’t have good arguments to make.”

For more information on why you should vote YES on Measures A and B, visit www.CitizensForSLO.org.