It was supposed to be a meeting of the candidates in a special election race for Congress in New York State's sprawling 23rd District. But it was not to be. Bill Carey has the story of what went on behind the scenes leading up to the cancellation of a News 10 Now debate.c

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- At first, we were encouraged by what Bill Owens was saying.

"We think it's much more important that people hear us, hear our message, get to know me so that they can make a decision as to who their representative should be," he said.

For weeks, the Owens campaign discussed potential dates, rejecting all, then simply said the district was too big and Owens couldn't make it to Syracuse on Oct. 26.

So where was Bill Owens at debate time?

In Oswego, which, by the way, is just a short drive from Syracuse. He was there to receive the endorsement of Senator Charles Schumer, who had spent his morning in Syracuse and who, by the way, likes the idea of debates.

"I think that debates are good, particularly as you get close to election time, the general election, when each party has a candidate to get up there and debate is important," said Schumer.

Owens, though, said he would be a no-show. A three-way debate had become a two-way confrontation.

Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava had said yes, she would attend.

She was still a bit surprised to be facing a third party challenge from Doug Hoffman, who had been among a number of Republicans who went before county committees seeking the nomination, then agreed not to challenge whoever was endorsed by the GOP. She said Hoffman took the pledge.

Scozzafava said, "He not only verbally said he promised to support me, he put it in writing."

Hoffman is in the race and his people had shown intense interest in a debate, whether democrat Owens was there or not. They would be there on Oct. 26. They said so, verbally and in writing.

Until the day before the debate when Hoffman campaign officials from New York City said he too would be a no-show.

Even a two-way debate was now out of the question.

The media has made much of the tough job of getting these candidates to answer questions or debate.

Watertown Mayor and radio talk show host Jeff Graham isn't surprised by the way things have developed.

He said, "This is a case of image making and controlling images, and I don't think the handlers for any of the three candidates want to subject their candidates to any kind of public scrutiny or asking questions and so on."

Scott Atkinson is the long-time news director at WWNY-TV in Watertown, which had also tried to arrange a debate.

Atkinson said, "The people who actually have to go to the polls next Tuesday and cast ballots aren't going to know anything other than the canned messages that they've gotten from the candidates. And, that's not right."

Elections allow voters to hire representatives, people who will serve their interests in office. In this case, two of three candidates have decided that the job interview just didn't serve their purposes.