[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="560"] Mayor William H. Hallenbeck Jr. (left) and Victor Mendolia in the WGXC Hudson studio during a July 2012 broadcast of "@Issue."[/caption]

Arthur Cusano reports in the Register Star there will be no debate between mayoral candidates this fall in the city of Hudson. Incumbent Republican Mayor William H. Hallenbeck Jr. has declined offers from the "Register Star," community radio station WGXC 90.7-FM and Hudson-based Martin AV Services to debate with challenger Democrat Victor Mendolia. The mayor was approached late last month about participating in a debate organized by the three parties. After much back and forth, Hallenbeck told the paper Mon., Oct. 14, that while he appreciated the invitation he chose to decline in large part because of the amount of time it would take to prepare for the forum. He also noted there has already been ample debate at Common Council meetings and in media outlets. Hallenbeck also said Mendolia's status as a WGXC programmer could lead to questions of fairness in how a debate was handled. Hallenbeck is no stranger to WGXC listeners. He has been a guest on the station multiple times, including two hour-long episodes of "@Issue," "The Right Opinion" and "The Afternoon Show." Attempts by the three parties to organize a debate between candidates for Columbia County Sheriff also failed. Democrat Mike Winnie refused to participate, while Republican David Bartlett failed to respond to the invitation. Note: Mendolia is a WGXC programmer currently on political hiatus.