The Wednesday night debate between Mayor Thomas Menino and his three challengers is postponed, officials with two campaigns confirmed. The early morning announcement of the death of U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy has led to the suspension of public mayoral campaign activities, including the WBZ-TV face-off that was to be moderated by political analyst Jon Keller. (Keller was on live television in the wee hours of the morning, as were most local networks, providing comment on and coverage of Kennedy's passing.) The debate was widely viewed as the unofficial start to the 2009 mayoral race, with Menino, a 16-year incumbent, facing off against City Councillors At-Large Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon, and South End developer Kevin McCrea.

EDITED TO ADD: WBZ-TV and campaign officials are still discussing what date the debate should be rescheduled to.

ANOTHER EDIT: Postponed is the better word to use, so folks don't get the wrong idea.