ICBND sponsors governor debate

Northwestern Financial Review, Aug 5, 2000

The Independent Community Banks of North Dakota is sponsoring a gubernatorial debate pitting former banker and Republican nominee John Hoeven against Democrat and sitting attorney general Heidi Heitkamp.

Scheduled for Aug. 21 at Bismarck State College, the debate will focus on issues related to rural America and rural North Dakota, said Joel Gilbertson, ICBND executive vice president. It's the first time the North Dakota banking group has been involved with such an event, which is open to the public.

"It's a very contested race with two good, non-incumbent candidates," said Gilbertson, whose group has been working on the debate for several months.

Both candidates will try to succeed Gov. Ed Schafer, a Republican and popular two-term leader. For seven years, Hoeven served as president of Bank of North Dakota, the country's only state-owned bank. He resigned from his post to campaign full-time with his last day at the bank being June 29. Heitkamp has been the state's attorney general since 1993 and previously was North Dakota's tax commissioner.

Gilbertson will likely serve as moderator for a three-person panel that will ask questions of each candidate. Originally, the ICBND had hoped to conduct the debate in a small town in a rural North Dakota setting, Gilbertson said. But that plan was scrapped due to the candidates' schedules and logistics for the media.

The auditorium where the debate will take place holds about 500, and a number of spots will be reserved for bankers, Gilbertson said. The debate is scheduled to last a half-hour, beginning at 6:30 p.m. and will be broadcast throughout the state by Prairie Public Radio.