Yesterday afternoon Mayor Mike McGinn—apparently annoyed by a blog post that City Council President Richard Conlin put up saying McGinn needs to "face facts" and stop exaggerating the danger of downtown tunnel cost overruns—challenged Conlin to a public debate on the matter.

Does Conlin accept?

Well, it turns out Conlin is on vacation in Europe right now (though apparently still blogging). Conlin aide Rob Gala says he'll ask his boss about the debate idea when he returns. But Gala also seemed to throw out a counter-offer: the mayor should just show up during one of the council's public comment periods if he has concerns. Said Gala:

The Council is focused on reviewing the various elements of the [tunnel] project and the associated agreements with the state, assessing risk and determining how best to move forward. The bi-weekly Council committee meetings are open to the public and provide ample opportunity for discussion and comment.

Dodgy.

Mr. Council President, if you're going to toss up an angry blog post from vacation, at least be willing to come back and take on the target of your post in person, politician vs. politician.