October 10, 2012 01:20 AM UTC

Jefferson County Republicans Not Attending Forums. Should They Be?

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• by: Colorado Pols

In races for the state legislature across Jefferson County, many Democratic candidates are showing up to forums and then left alone to debate themselves. Their Republican opponents, according to a press release from the Jefferson County Democratic Party, simply can’t be bothered to join in.

From the Jeffco Dems:

Republican Candidates “Unavailable” for League of Women Voters Forums

Six of the Nine Republican Legislative Candidates Don’t Show Up

After opting not to sponsor state legislative campaign debates in 2010, the historically nonpartisan League of Women Voters of Jefferson County scheduled a series of four candidate forums ahead of the 2012 election. At the first three forums, held in Evergreen, Arvada, and Lakewood, Republican candidates were notably absent in the two most competitive Senate Districts and four most competitive House Districts in Jefferson County. All Democratic candidates were present, as were some of the Libertarian candidates.

After the forums in Arvada and Lakewood, crowds were left wondering why so many of the Republicans failed to show up. In Arvada, a camera crew was present to film the forum, but with the Republicans absent, it was decided that the forum could not be televised [Pols Emphasis].

“I was very disappointed that so many of the Republican candidates didn’t respect and honor us enough to explain their positions,” said Lakewood resident Lesley Matschke, who had been a registered Republican her whole life until changing her affiliation to Democratic in September.

Another Lakewood resident, Margene Stroup, commented that, “It sounds like they got together and decided not to show up. It reminds me of the stealth campaigns in the 1990s when Republicans were trying to take over school boards across the nation.”

Public forums for state legislative candidates are generally not well attended [Pols Emphasis], but remain one of the few places where engaged citizens can see these candidates side-by-side. Prior to the League of Women Voters forums, candidates were invited to forums hosted by the Arvada Chamber of Commerce on August 17th and by the Jefferson County Business Lobby on September 14th.

The only remaining forum is to be held on Thursday, October 11th, from 7:00-9:00pm at Saint Phillip Lutheran Church (7531 S Kendall Blvd, Littleton). Candidates have been invited from Senate District 22 and House Districts 22, 25 and 28.

The Dems are justified in their complaints about their Republican counterparts, but one strongly-worded press release won’t make a difference one way or another. That no single Republican legislative candidate has shown up to any side-by-side forums indicates that this is a deliberate move by their strategists. Worse yet for the Democrats, it’s a good one.

As the press release above (strangely) points out, nobody attends forums like these. This isn’t the national stage, where side-by-side comparisons enable candidates to establish — and lose — momentum. Sure, a few voters may walk away with a better idea of their choices down-ballot, but they number so few that it’s hard to justify scheduling time for a forum that could be better used raising money or knocking on doors. Not to mention that the people who have time to sit in the audience of these types of things have likely already made up their minds.

Debates are risky, too. Candidates are forced to come face to face with their opponent. Though most of those exchanges end amicably, it’s still an uncontrolled situation, heightening the potential for blunders, gaffes, and other “Macaca” moments that can make their way into the papers or onto a mail piece. If there were greater returns, it’d be a risk worth taking. For a handful of votes, though? Not a chance.

Some would say, the Jeffco Dems no doubt included, that the Republicans are appearing cowardly and out-of-touch by not attending these events. Perhaps, but to whom? There’s been no coverage of their absences or of the forums overall. The one time a “camera crew” did show up, it opted not to roll footage because the Republicans weren’t there. There’s patently no downside of not attending these events and little benefit to showing up.

Countless politicians over the years have levied the “afraid to debate” charge against their opponents, but it very rarely sticks unless the media pick up and incessantly repeat the narrative. And, with ballots going out in a few days, there are simply more compelling stories to tell.