The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving has pledged $1 million to a local committee focused on bringing a 2020 presidential or vice presidential debate to the Capital City.
The nonprofit announced late Monday that its board of directors recently approved the allocation to the Debate 2020 Local Organizing Committee to “ensure inclusive civic engagement events and activities” associated with the potential debate in Hartford.
In April, the city of Hartford was named one of six finalists to host one of four presidential and vice presidential debates in Oct. 2020.
Hartford, which proposed The Bushnell Performing Arts Center and the Connecticut Convention Center as potential debate sites, is the only city named as a finalist and the lone Northeast site under consideration.
Other finalists include Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Ind., and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
The non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which has sponsored and produced the debates for three decades, will select final site locations in October.
Hartford last hosted a presidential debate in the 1996 race between Bill Clinton and Bob Dole at then Bushnell Theater. More than 46 million television viewers watched the Hartford debate, according to Nielsen Media Research.
The Hartford Foundation said its allocation “came after a rigorous and deliberative process” and marks an “important step” for the organization and philanthropy as an industry to lead a pivotal presidential debate.
It said the funding would support free civics educational resources in English and Spanish for teachers and students in Greater Hartford; census work; and paid internships and tickets for Hartford youth to attend the debate, among other uses.
“Working alongside regional partners in the public sector and the business community, we plan to shed light on the effective solutions demonstrated by our grantees and the urgency to eliminate the persistent disparities that resonate in communities in our region and across the country,” said Jay Williams, president of Hartford Foundation.
If Hartford is tapped to host a debate, a local organizing committee would be tasked to execute the event and engage the community. The committee would be led by an executive committee comprised of a chairperson, the city’s mayor and top funders.
The local organizing committee has asked Williams to serve as chair of the committee’s executive board, the Hartford Foundation said.
