Lungren, Davis to Hold Five Debates in Governor’s Race

After squabbling for two weeks about when, where and how often to square off, gubernatorial candidates Gray Davis and Dan Lungren agreed Tuesday to a series of five debates, beginning next month.

Campaign officials met Tuesday at a hotel in Beverly Hills and emerged with an agreement to meet five times: once in July, once in August and three times in September and October.

They also agreed that, at some point, Republican state Atty. Gen. Lungren and Democratic Lt. Gov. Davis will be permitted to question each other directly.

Both sides said further negotiations are necessary to iron out details on formats and sponsorships. More meetings are planned for next week.

Until Tuesday, a feud over debates threatened to drag the general election campaign into the kind of acrimony that voters witnessed in the primary election, which saw the three Democratic candidates bicker frequently about their records and respective personal wealth.