The "only forum" for the CD race turned "into a back and forth between front-runners" state Rep. David Rivera (R) and '08 nominee/ex-Obama appointee Joe Garcia (D). General contractor Craig Porter (W): "I guess they don't want to play with me."

"Questions ranged from earmarks and what candidates would do to promote job growth, to whether or not the candidates would toe the party line when they got to Washington and where they stood on Jackson Lab."

During the debate, Rivera went "off on a tangent on the fact that he cut taxes, and Garcia doesn't yet live in the district and spent most the past year living out of state." Garcia brought up Rivera's financial reports that listed Rivera receiving income from "consulting work done for the U.S. Agency for International Development." A newspaper article "revealed that the agency had no record of hiring Rivera." Rivera has since amended the disclosure forms.

Garcia also "said he and his family have always lived" in South FL and then "called Rivera out for claiming that he cut taxes when fees for things such as a driver's license went up."

"Although the event was hosted in Immokalee, two major issues that concern the community were not discussed -- Immokalee's agricultural economy and immigration" (Batista, Naples Daily News, 10/19).