July 27, 2012 08:34 PM UTC

Independent candidate Casida not yet invited to join Pace and Tipton in first CD3 debate

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• by: Jason Salzman

(The more I hear about this young woman, the more I like her style, if not her substance. – promoted by ProgressiveCowgirl)

UDATE 8-8-12 Independent candidate Tisha Casida released the following statement last night on the decision by Adams State University’s Veterans Group not to include her in tonight’s debate featuring candidates for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District:

I am surprised by the actions of the Adams State University Veterans Club to invite Sal Pace (D) and Scott Tipton (R) to the debate at Adams State University (ASU) and ignore my candidacy for Colorado’s third congressional district as an independent.  

I represent a group of people who are dissatisfied with what both political parties are doing about these important issues; and being a woman who has had a husband in war is an entirely different perspective than what either Pace or Tipton will ever be able to speak to.Sincerely,

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UPDATE 7-28-28: Cory Diss, the President of the Adams State Veterans Group, which is the organization sponsoring the Pace-Tipton debate, explains why Casida was excluded:

It was the decision of our group to only include the two major party candidates for our debates.  We made this decision for several different reasons.  The first and foremost reason was the difficulties our group would have accommodating every candidate that decided to run with our limited resources.  Moreover, we had to consider the amount of time we had in the debate to get a fair amount of questions and answers in, with more than the two candidates it would cut down the amount of questions being ask significantly.  We also had to take into account ASU’s policy for inviting political figures in, this policy requires we invite both major parties of those running for offices.  By limiting our venue to only the two main party candidates we address all of these issues.  Lastly, it would be unfair to invite a candidate who is currently not on the ballot and would open the door for other write in candidates to ask the same question.  At  the end of the day this will be the first congressional debate that has taken place in the San Luis Valley and it will be held by a our group which is a non-partisan group.

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Independent congressional candidate Tisha Casida has yet to be invited to a debate at Adams State University featuring Democrat Sal Pace and Republican Scott Tipton.

The debate, which will be the first in the race for the 3rd congressional district, will take place Aug. 8, according to a tweet today by Durango Herald reporter Joe Hanel, which did not indicate if Casida was included. Hence this blog post.

The event is being organized by the Adams State University Veterans Club, a student group, according to a University spokesperson.

An email to the club was not immediately returned.

“We haven’t heard anything about that,” said Casida when asked if she was invited to the event. “We’ll have our volunteers and supporters call them and see if we can be a part of it.”

Casida has so far not been invited to participate in the two debates that incumbent Scott Tiption has agreed to attend with Pace:  one in Grand Junction, sponsored by Club 20, and another in Pueblo, sponsored by the Pueblo Chieftain.

Tipton told The Denver Post that he will participate in other debates, time permitting.

Pace and Casida have both agreed to debates at Fort Lewis College Oct. 11 and in Aspen in the fall (no date has been set), according to Casida.

“The latest we heard is that Tipton has not confirmed his presence at either of those,” Casida told me.

Casida turned in signatures to qualify for the ballot a couple weeks ago, and she said she’s confident she’ll meet the ballot qualifications by the Aug. 13 deadline.

“We’re pounding the pavement and meeting with groups,” Casida told me, adding that 2004 Libertarian Presidential candidate Michael Badnarik will be coming to Colorado to help her campaign during the  final 100 days.

But nothing she does will convince “some people in the Republican Party” that she’s a legitimate candidate.

“No matter what you do, [Republican State Chair Ryan Call] is going to continue to dismiss us,” she said. “But the majority of people we reach, we win over, because we are honest and transparent. We have a lot of hungry people who want what we offer.”

“We’d love to be included in the debate,” said Casida. “But if they decide not to, it’s a free country.”