John Hickenlooper, Tom Tancredo and Dan Maes have a date today -- but will Maes show?

At noon, all three Colorado gubernatorial candidates are slated to be at Channel 12 to tape the first debate of the season, which is scheduled to air tomorrow night. That's the day the Colorado Secretary of State's office must officially certify the names on the November ballot...

By Patricia Calhoun

September 2, 2010

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At noon, all three Colorado gubernatorial candidates are slated to be at Channel 12 to tape the first debate of the season, which is scheduled to air tomorrow night.

That's the day the Colorado Secretary of State's office must officially certify the names on the November ballot.

Will Dan Maes, who just lost the support of former Senator Hank Brown, be there? That's the big question.

The noon taping of Colorado Decides 2010 "Gubernatorial General Election Debate" at the Colorado Public Television studios at 2900 Welton Street appears on John Hickenlooper's schedule, so count on Denver's mayor to be there; the Tancredo and Maes campaigns don't send out scheduling alerts.

But who shows up this morning -- and then how they perform -- could mark the turning point of a gubernatorial campaign that's already taken more twists and turns than the Mind Eraser.

The debate -- whoever's on it -- will air at 9 p.m. on Channel 12. It's a joint project with Channel 4. Jim Bennemann will be moderating.

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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