Governor debate brings spotlight to Coe

The gubernatorial debate Thursday brings the state spotlight to Cedar Rapids and to host site Coe College.

Such high-profile events are a nice way to draw attention to the state's smaller private colleges and show their importance to Iowa, higher education officials said.

“Certainly the big universities get a lot of attention both athletically and academically, with good reason,” Coe political science Professor Bruce Nesmith said. “But we have a lot of good small liberal arts colleges around Iowa and to draw attention to that is pretty important.”

Coe plays host to the 7 p.m. gubernatorial debate between Democratic Gov. Chet Culver and Republican challenger Terry Branstad; the debate is sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG-TV9.

Colleges are frequently host sites for political events, candidate visits and debates - St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids hosted gubernatorial debates in 2006.

The events always mean positive exposure, especially for smaller colleges that may not get much attention statewide, Gary Steinke, president of the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, said.

“It's certainly very prestigious and honorable to have a gubernatorial debate where the entire focus of the state is on that debate and it's being hosted at one of our private colleges,” Steinke said. “It brings a very positive exclamation point to the college.”

About 1,100 tickets were made available for Thursday's debate at Coe. The tickets were gone in about three days, Coe Spokesman Rod Pritchard said. About 150 tickets went to Coe professors and students, he said. Coe enrolls about 1,300 students.

Junior Zack Valentine, 25, president of the Coe Political Science Club, said this is an exciting year for Coe to host a gubernatorial debate because of the importance of governors' races on the national stage. It's a great opportunity for Coe to get more statewide exposure, and for Coe students to get exposure to politics, the Cedar Rapids native said. It will be the first time Valentine has attended a political debate, though he has met Gov. Culver.

“Absolutely I was excited,” Valentine said. “It's particularly exciting for an institution the size of Coe to have the opportunity to host something like this.”

Nesmith, adviser to Coe's Political Science Club, said because Cedar Rapids is the host site, local issues such as flood recovery could get more attention.

“This is about as good a chance as you have to get the candidates articulating their message, their vision, their rationale for why people should vote for them,” he said.

Debate details

• The gubernatorial candidates - Gov. Chet Culver and Terry Branstad - will debate their positions at 7 p.m. Thursday at Coe College's Sinclair Auditorium. The debate is sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG-TV9.
• Watch: Live coverage on www.TheGazette.com, www.KCRG.com and KCRG Local 9.2. You get a second chance to view the debate with Iowa Public Television's broadcast at 8 p.m.
• Read: Complete coverage of the debate in Friday's Gazette.

Debate details

• The gubernatorial candidates - Gov. Chet Culver and Terry Branstad - will debate their positions at 7 p.m. Thursday at Coe College's Sinclair Auditorium. The debate is sponsored by The Gazette and KCRG-TV9.
• Watch: Live coverage on www.TheGazette.com, www.KCRG.com and KCRG Local 9.2. You get a second chance to view the debate with Iowa Public Television's broadcast at 8 p.m.
• Read: Complete coverage of the debate in Friday's Gazette.