Metuchen Dem mayoral candidates will not debate Councilman Vahalla more interested in going door to door BY TOM CAIAZZA Staff Writer METUCHEN - If you're waiting for a debate between Metuchen's two Democratic candidates for mayor, you might have to wait a little longer. Councilman Tom Vahalla said that he would not debate fellow councilman and bearer of the Metuchen Democratic Committee's endorsement for mayor Tim Dacey, because he believes his time would be better spent on the door-to-door campaign circuit. Dacey invited Vahalla to debate him on a date to be decided by the two candidates, but Vahalla declined in favor of meeting the voters individually. Vahalla and Dacey, both Democrats, will face each other in the June 5 primary to take over for Mayor Edmund O'Brien, who will not seek re-election. Vahalla said he would rather meet with voters, one on one. "Usually a debate is just a room filled with people supporting either one or the other candidate," Vahalla said. "I am going door to door at least two hours a day, meeting with people, talking with people … that's more important in expressing what my view points are on the issues." Vahalla began his bid for mayor after the Metuchen Democratic Committee chose to endorse Dacey at their meeting just one week after long-time Mayor O'Brien announced he would not seek re-election. When Vahalla, a 14-year veteran of the council, announced his primary campaign on April 14, he stated that he had received "numerous phone calls from people who said I should run." Dacey said that he felt a debate between the candidates would be beneficial to the people of Metuchen and would at the very least bring the populace out of the haze of voter apathy. "Unfortunately, we are going to have pretty low turnout for the primary," Dacey said, "so we should at least do one debate." Dacey also said that a debate between the two candidates would serve as a watermark to determine who the better candidate is and would show what the philosophical differences are between the two candidates. Vahalla said that the decision should rest with the "rank and file" voters, and that going door to door would be more beneficial to him than debating the issue with Dacey. "I think the benefit is us going door to door, talking with them," Vahalla said, "and that's what I'm doing." Vahalla has been thwarting efforts by the Metuchen Democratic Committee to delegitimize his primary challenge. Beverly Passantino, chair of the committee, sent a letter to registered Democrats containing a veiled reference to Vahalla's challenge, saying it would "cause long-lasting damage" to the party. Vahalla sees his challenge as a benefit to democracy and said that it would strengthen the party rather than hurt it.