Running and Hiding

Commentary By Ron Beasley

Oregon will chose a new governor in November.  The race is between former governor, Democrat John Kitzhaber, and former NBA center, Chris Dudley.  When he was in the NBA Dudley's claim to fame was that he missed nearly all of his free throws.  Dudley has so far said nothing about what policies he might implement.  Kitzhaber has been asking for debates and Dudley has been avoiding them.  This has even The Oregonian's right threaded wingnut oped author upset.

Debates and joint appearances help voters decide which politician they prefer, which is why candidates should at least pretend to want to participate in them. In Oregon's gubernatorial race, Republican Chris Dudley is failing in that regard while former Gov. John Kitzhaber comes across eager to let voters take the political equivalent of the Pepsi Challenge.

Two decisions have left Dudley appearing to shy away from joint appearances, but there might well have been a dozen when it comes to the public's perception.

Most recently, Dudley turned down a chance to make a joint appearance to discuss state issues in front of the Oregon Mayors Association.

Kitzhaber, on the other hand, not only accepted the mayors' invitation for a joint appearance on the morning of July 30, he offered to attend the event later in the day to accommodate the hours Dudley said he was available.

But Dudley declined that offer, and the mayors saw the candidates solo.

A Dudley spokesman said that the Republican candidate turned down the Kitzhaber offer because he wanted to address the mayors on his own, rather than hearing "another tired lecture" from his Democratic opponent.

Earlier in the month, Dudley turned down an invitation to appear with his rival at the annual convention of the Oregon Newspapers Publishers Association, saying he'd already planned a family vacation at that time.

Of course, when it turned out Dudley interrupted his Colorado vacation to attend a Republican Governors Association meeting in Aspen, it only gave fuel to the critics who questioned his campaigning priorities.

She says it's time for Dudley to debate.  But still nothing from Dudley.  Today the Kitzhaber made it harder for Dudley to hide when it announced a debate schedule:

Portland, Oregon – The campaign to elect John Kitzhaber as Oregon’s next governor today announced the debate schedule for the November election. Kitzhaber will appear at seven debates around the state to share his plans to bring the change Oregon needs and that Oregonians can trust.

“I believe that anyone asking to be governor must candidly present his proposals on how to move our state forward and to allow those proposals to be examined, questioned and challenged in public forums,” said Kitzhaber. “Now, more than ever, that’s what voters expect and deserve.”

The debate schedule is outlined in the letter below sent today to the Dudley campaign:

Mr. Ginsberg:

On July 9 I sent you a letter on behalf of John Kitzhaber in an effort to agree on a debate schedule for the general election. In that letter I proposed seven issue-based debates around the state.

Events since that time have made it clear that Chris Dudley is purposefully avoiding opportunities to debate.

First, the lack of any response to a letter you received over a month ago indicates the level of interest Mr. Dudley has in allowing Oregonians to compare the principal gubernatorial candidates side-by-side. This is, of course, disappointing to anyone who believes that offering and defending one’s plans and positions is an essential part of the democratic process.

Second, the incidents surrounding the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association debate on July 16 have been well-documented, and do not need to be elaborated upon in this letter. This was an important debate that has not been missed by a major party candidate for nearly a quarter century. Suffice it to say his unwillingness to appear – and the shifting reasons provided for that failure to appear – offer further indications of his intent.

Finally, we offered to defer to Mr. Dudley’s schedule so that the candidates could debate before the Oregon Mayors Association on July 30, but our offer was refused – even though our offer was to join him at the time and place that Mr. Dudley was actually scheduled to appear.

Taken together, these events provide a clear indication that Mr. Dudley is either unwilling or unready to debate. John Kitzhaber is ready, willing and able to do so, and continues to believe that it is important for Oregon to move forward. Out of respect for the more than 40 organizations that have contacted our campaign to host a debate, I have confirmed John for the debates listed below. These debates provide voters across the state with the opportunity to hear from John on a variety of issues important to Oregonians.

September

9/9 Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance – Burns

Topic: Economic Development in Eastern Oregon

9/23 Urban League of Portland/African American Alliance for Homeownership – Portland

Topic: Economic and Social Justice

9/24 Eugene City Club

Topic: Early Childhood Education

9/25 League of Oregon Cities – Statewide Representation in Eugene

Topic: State Budget

October

10/8 Portland City Club – Portland-Metro Area

Topic: All

10/18 KOBI TV – Medford

Topic: All

10/24 KATU TV/League of Women Voters/AARP – Broadcast Statewide

Topic: All

Please know that this list is inclusive and we will be planning John’s remaining campaign schedule around these dates.

We hope to see Chris Dudley there.

(emphasis mine)

This is a no win for Dudley. Kitzhaber will run circles around him if he does debate and it will look bad if he doesn’t. Now Chris Dudley is no Sharon Angle but this is a Sharon Angle moment.