Mayor candidate Ron Littlefield said Wednesday night’s WTCI sponsored debate gave him "the opportunity to show my breadth of knowledge about city sssues and exposed Ann Coulter’s lack of experience to move the city forward."

Mr. Littlefield said, “I think the WTCI debate came closer to a debate format than anything we’ve seen before…. It let us compare views, instead of responding to canned questions with obvious answers. WTCI, its moderator, Kevin West, and three reporters should be commended for providing this valuable service to the Citizens of Chattanooga.”

Because the format allowed for rebuttal, Mr. Littlefield said he "was able to set the record straight when Ms. Coulter was asked about her negative advertising pegging me as a tax hiker."

Mr. Littlefield said, “Ms. Coulter is either making irresponsible allegations about my voting record with no regard for the facts or truth or she is grossly naïve about the legislative processes of how to make local government work. I will give Ms. Coulter the benefit of the doubt that she is not purposely distorting my record, but her lack of experience merely led her to the conclusions of her allegations.

"Public opinion polls prove our campaign has impressive momentum and suddenly my opponent decides to levy false and reckless charges in her latest ads. Ann Coulter knows that I do not support additional taxes and that my management style allows us to manage Chattanooga without having to raise taxes.

“Ms. Coulter has attacked Dan Johnson on an issue that already has been addressed by him on several occasions. She should apologize to Mr. Johnson and his family for these personal attacks.

“It's ironic Coulter attacks Johnson about his money issues when year after year she was unable to work within the budget the city gave to her…requesting increases in her budget each year she was director of the agency.

"I would like to say kindly, the more I have been in these public debates with Ms. Coulter the more I’ve realized her candidacy is a media created image… she is whatever her latest TV ad has made her to be.

"Financially speaking, she’s spending more money on media than my campaign has risen. I feel very good about the fact that we’ve spent less than $30,000 on media and yet we’re still doing well. I’m the fiscally responsible candidate proving that with just a little bit of money, I can make big things happen in positive ways.”