The League of Women Voters of the Calumet Area informed GoHammond.tv over the weekend that it would not be allowed to live stream the scheduled mayoral debate that is currently scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, 2015. GoHammond.tv had previously planned to air the debate live so that all Hammond residents could view the debate over the internet.
This decision by the League was the result of Councilman Homero “Chico” Hinojosa’s veto of allowing live video of the debate. The League indicated that without unanimous consent of the candidates it would not allow this type of public access to the debate.
Councilman Hinojosa justified his denial of public access of the debate stating, “in order to derail more political cartoons and social media memes we denied this request. Let the media do their job and report the facts.”
Mayor McDermott countered this by stating “public access is the hallmark of my administration. Not allowing videotaping of this event by gohammond.tv is contradictory to everything my administration stands for. Allowing residents different ways to view the debate ensures a wider audience and a more informed electorate.”
Mayor McDermott pointed to his monthly Mayor’s Night Out events that are videotaped. “I will be back at Calumet College the very next day for my Mayor’s Night Out this week. That event will be videotaped like it always is. Why wouldn’t we want to have the residents of Hammond, one week before an election, be able to watch the mayoral debate as well?”
GoHammond.tv is the city’s official internet television station and airs many public meetings including the city council, board of works and other city events. It was started in 2010 by Mayor McDermott and his administration as a result of the local public access cable station was shut down because it was no longer mandated under state law.