BURLINGTON, Vt. -
For the second straight night, Independent Burlington mayoral candidate Wanda Hines skipped a debate.
Organizers of the Wednesday night event at UVM say they reached out to Hines, but the candidate was a no-show.
Democrat Miro Weinberger and Republican Kurt Wright spent the bulk of the debate discussing relations between the city and school.
Both candidates did say they would support lowering the drinking age to 18, but say the accompanying loss of federal transportation dollars prohibits that from being a reality.
Miro Weinberger said, "I do think there's a fundamental injustice to having a situation where someone can be sent off to war for this country, and die for this country, but not be able - legally - to drink."
Kurt Wright agreed, "Frankly, the state's probably not going to be willing to give up a big chunk of federal money over that issue, so we need to have a well-organized effort to get the federal government to change that policy."
During the debate, Weinberger criticized Wright for touting his experience on the City Council and ignoring responsibility for the city's recent issues. Wright countered but largely refrained from direct attacks of Weinberger.
A voicemail left for Hines seeking an explanation for her absence went unreturned.
