Gov. Kate Brown announced details Thursday for five debates she plans to participate in this fall.

Her campaign has said the sitting governor who is seeking election for the first time would agreed to at least three debates. As former secretary of state, Brown succeeded Gov. John Kitzhaber when he resigned in February 2015 amid an influence-peddling scandal.

The five scheduled debates with GOP nominee Bud Pierce will be held in Bend, Portland, Eugene and Medford.

“I’m proud of all that we’ve gotten done in just a year and a half. And, there is much more work to do – for families, for our environment and for better government,” Brown said in a statement Thursday. “I’m looking forward to traveling across our state and sharing my vision for how we will move Oregon forward, together.”

{img:122791}Pierce said Thursday he’s glad to see Brown has increased the number of debates she’ll accept.

He noted that Brown declined to join in the traditional first debate of general election season sponsored by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association July 22.

“I’m glad the governor now feels ready to be in front of the people,” Pierce said in a statement Thursday. “Throughout the entire campaign, I’ve told voters that I will attend any debate at any time and have accepted every single debate invitation I’ve received, since I believe debates are very important.”

In addition to the debates with Brown, Pierce has accepted three other debate invitations and “is anxiously awaiting the governor’s decision” on those debates, according to Pierce’s campaign. Those include a debate sponsored by KDRV in Medford on Oct. 16.

Pierce also accepted an invitation for a debate by the Pamplin Media Group/EO Media Group/Skanner News Group/KOIN 6 News/University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center and another debate by KATU, both of which had dates to be determined, said Stacey Kafka, Pierce’s communications director.

Liz Accola Meunier, a spokeswoman for Brown’s campaign, said Brown has declined the debate by Pamplin Media Group/EO Media Group/Skanner News Group/KOIN 6 News/University of Oregon Agora Journalism Center and is still considering the other two.

“We’ve received a lot of great proposals and the governor is eager to talk about a variety of issues that matter to Oregonians,” Meunier said. “Unfortunately, due to scheduling constraints, decisions on this fall’s debate schedule so far have been made primarily on logistical grounds.”

The five confirmed debates between Brown and Pierce are:

• Sept. 24, Bend. Sponsored by: Society of Professional Journalists, The East Oregonian, Jefferson Public Radio and KTVZ-TV.

• Sept. 30, Portland. Sponsored by: Portland City Club

• Oct. 6, Eugene. Sponsored by: League of Women Voters and Oregon Public Broadcasting.

• Oct. 13 , Medford. Sponsored by: KOBI-TV and KOTI-TV.

• Oct. 20, Portland. Sponsored by: KGW-TV and The Oregonian.

Brown’s campaign says proposals for additional debates, forums or appearances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.