U.S. Rep. Tom Reed.

Political debates are hardly ever a party decision. Instead, those discussions are almost always dictated by the incumbent.

This year, state Gov. Andrew Cuomo decided on only one face-off with challenger Marc Molinaro. It occurred on the evening of Oct. 23 in the WCBS-TV studios in New York City and was quite entertaining with both Cuomo and Molinaro attempting to make the other look like the more corrupt of the candidates. Molinaro, of course, would have been open to more debates. Cuomo declined.

With the state’s District 23 of the U.S. Congress election, it is a similar scenario. U.S. Rep. Tom Reed calls the shots — though challenger Tracy Mitrano probably would have welcomed additional forums.

Reed settled on three sites, which says a lot about where his campaign believes the race will be won. Tompkins County, which always goes blue, will back Mitrano as Allegany and Steuben lean to the right. He ultimately chose Jamestown, Olean and Elmira.

With registered Democrats and Republicans at a 50-50 split in Chautauqua County, the first debate was at The Post-Journal.

While it was held behind closed doors, both Reed and Mitrano had campaign staff in attendance.

From this perspective, both candidates had shining moments.

To be fair, I have been a part of two Mitrano media conference calls while seeing her in person at the county debate held at Chautauqua Lake Central School before the Democratic primary in June as well as on Oct. 20 in Dunkirk when Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul made a city stop to make partisan endorsements.

She saved her best for the debate on Oct. 24, able to take on the incumbent and his record on health care and the lack of Internet access in rural upstate. She was engaging and knowledgeable. Reed was just as impressive.

He spoke of bipartisan work in a divided Congress and efforts to consistently reach out and listen to those he represents.

In between those views were the labels. The words “extreme” and “facetious” were used at least 15 times combined by both candidates.

For those interested, we have posted the full audio from the debate — including closing remarks — on our Web site at www.observertoday.com/news/district-23-debate/

Here are some other interesting items this week from the campaign:

¯ LAST-MINUTE MOLINARO — Only once has Cuomo’s challenger been to Chautauqua County — and it was a low-key event during the summer. He returns today for a stop in Jamestown at the Northwest Arena around 7 p.m. Molinaro, who is consistently wearing an Underdog pin, has spent a majority of time downstate. To win as governor, he needs to make a major dent there. Going on past election results, he will likely take this county despite his rare appearances.

¯ TWO TO TANGO — On consecutive questions during the Dunkirk League of Women Voters debate, in the rebuttal portion, incumbent Assemblyman Andrew Goodell was stopped twice by moderator Marcia Merrins. She said Goodell was not responding to the question. The first time, about NRG, Goodell was cool, quizzical and almost apologetic. On the second question, in regard to if the county has gotten better since he served as executive, he was a bit fired up while responding to challenger Judith Einach’s remarks. “With all due respect, I don’t need to debate the moderator,” he told Merrins.

“No you don’t. … I think you have to have respect for your audience,” Merrins replied as Goodell stood up to make his point. “Sit down please.”

After the brief exchange, they moved on to the next question.

¯ ABOVE THE LAW — In recent months, a number of police organizations — including the state troopers and the county police chiefs — have thrown their support to challenger Jim Quattrone in the race for sheriff. At Tuesday’s debate, those endorsements led to a question from the audience. Quattrone said, “If (all departments and agencies) aren’t willing to work together, we will not be able to get a grasp on the problems on the county.” Sheriff Joe Gerace, however, saw it differently and pointed to his lack of a state police nod. “Some of the reason I wasn’t endorsed by some of these organizations is because I am a strong sheriff. … I don’t agree with some of the things the state police have done, especially during the Bucky Phillips search.”

¯ HAVING SOME FAITH — Last weekend’s horrific synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh have been a hot-button issue. Both sheriff candidates noted the importance of having churches and other organizations prepared for the worst. In March, a church safety summit was held by Gerace that brought in many participants. “One of the attendees,” Gerace noted, “said we did something that had never been done before. … We got every denomination in one building.” That remark, which brought some laughter from the debate audience, was a light-hearted moment regarding a serious and somber concern.

John D’Agostino is the OBSERVER publisher. Send comments to jdagostino@observertoday.com or call 366-3000, ext. 401.