My Response About Candidate Forum

On Saturday over the Labor Day weekend, I received an email from a new Facebook group called Wilsonville Neighbors. Names of its Facebook followers were concealed, and I couldn’t find any information about the group online or when asking around.

This small and new Facebook group had scheduled a city council candidate forum that would be live-stream broadcast as well as recorded for their use. The stated intent — holding a forum free of politics and in a neutral way — is appealing to me. However, important details were not provided.

Typically for such a forum, date and time options are floated to candidates in advance. To assume four candidates are all free at the exact same time without asking is unusual. Additionally, I was pretty much given the holiday weekend to reply. On September 7, I emailed several pertinent questions and received a response with a few answers, but many others were not addressed.

In response, I sent the following to the group today, September 9:

Dear Wilsonville Neighbors,

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my questions and provide additional information regarding the September 30 candidate forum.  After reviewing your response, however, I have decided to respectfully decline the invitation at this time.

My primary concern is that several important elements of the forum remain undecided or unanswered. The moderator has not yet been selected, the members of the Community Question Review Panel have not been identified, the final forum procedures and rules have not been provided, and the process by which questions will ultimately be evaluated and selected remains somewhat undefined.

I am simply not in the practice of committing to a public program such as this without knowing all of the important details in advance. I find that of greater importance during an election, when candidates and voters should have confidence in the neutrality, transparency, and structure of the process.

I also believe the forum would benefit significantly from an established, independent, and neutral sponsor or co-sponsor. Organizations such as the League of Women Voters, Wilsonville (or Area) Chamber of Commerce, or the Wilsonville Spokesman bring established procedures, accountability, and experience to candidate forums. While I appreciate that Wilsonville Neighbors Group has reviewed practices used by the League of Women Voters, following another organization's practices is different from having an independent organization participate in administering or overseeing the process.

My questions regarding the video were also not addressed. Since the forum will be livestreamed, recorded, and publicly distributed, I believe a credible independent organization should co-host or oversee that portion of the event. Candidates should know who controls the recording and how and where it will be distributed.

If a credible neutral organization were to become a sponsor or co-sponsor—including appropriate involvement with the recording and distribution of the event—I would certainly reconsider my participation.

I also believe it would have been helpful for the candidates to have been consulted earlier in the planning process. The invitation was received after the date, location, basic format, and general framework had already been established. Earlier engagement would have allowed candidates to ask questions and better understand the process before being asked to make a commitment.

I want to emphasize that my decision is not about avoiding questions, debate, or engagement with Wilsonville residents. I welcome all three. I also respect the other candidates' decisions regarding their participation. Each candidate must make that determination for themselves.

My decision is based solely on whether I have enough information and confidence in the structure, independent neutrality, and handling of the recorded event to make a commitment. At this time, I do not.

Thank you again for the invitation and for responding to my questions. I appreciate your efforts to encourage greater community involvement.

Sincerely,

Sam Scull