There are four candidates running for Oregon Secretary of State—State Senators Vicki Walker, Brad Avakian, Kate Brown, and Rick Metsger. We hosted all four in a great debate at the Bus Project’s Rebooting Democracy conference several weeks ago.

Now, the City Club is looking to host their own Secretary of State debate on May 2. Melody Rose, co-chair of the Friday Forum committee, sent out a note to the candidates, asking them to demonstrate their viability, to be considered for inclusion in the debate.

Did I mention above that all four candidates (not a huge number of candidates, by any means) are State Senators? I’d hazard a guess that all four are viable contenders.

But Rose writes that more than three candidates might not work with the format they’ve got in mind. She says:

City Club’s programming policy strongly favors the airing of substantive information from a limited number of candidates in a debate format. This policy is intended to ensure effective use of the approximately 50-minute duration of our programs, which are broadcast statewide on OPB radio and on cable access in the Portland metro area. Club policy specifically limits debates to a maximum of three viable candidates. If more than three candidates demonstrate viability by City Club standards, the Club may consider an alternative program format.

To give each candidate equal opportunity to demonstrate viability, we invite your campaign to supply whatever information you believe will best demonstrate your candidate’s viability. City Club’s holistic assessment of candidates’ viability relies heavily on the following three criteria:

1. polling data that suggests a broad base of support or a competitive position
2. evidence of significant fund raising
3. evidence of strong name recognition within the electoral jurisdiction

Invitations to participate in a debate will be based on the judgment of the committee.

Sen. Vicki Walker replied:

Melody: My response is attached. Thank you for the invitation.

And what a response it is, calling City Club out for not simply inviting all four candidates: “It is borderline insulting that you would consider singling out any one of us simply in the name of a format. Your members and the public deserve better,” she writes. The whole thing is after the cut.

February 28, 2008

Melody Rose
Friday Forum Committee
City Club of Portland
901 SW Washington St.
Portland, OR 97205

Dear Ms. Rose:

Thank you for the invitation to speak before the City Club on May 2nd. For decades, the City Club has been a gold standard when it comes to informing the public about the issues that affect them.

The Secretary of State’s race is one of the most important offices Oregonians will be electing in 2008. As the chief overseer of elections and state tax dollars, it is at the nexus of voters’ values and their trust in government.

Perhaps that is why it was so disappointing to see an organization like the City Club that has traditionally welcomed open debate consider such an exclusionary format on May 2nd. Quite frankly, it is beneath this organization’s standing.

There are four quality Democratic candidates vying for the nomination of their party, each of whom has won multiple elections in his or her own district, raised well in excess of a million dollars during their various campaigns and has the respect of their colleagues and the people whom they represent.

At this point, the only semi-public polling conducted shows that if the election were today, the landslide winner would be named “Undecided,” not terribly surprising for a down-ballot race like this several months before the election.

It is borderline insulting that you would consider singling out any one of us simply in the name of a format. Your members and the public deserve better.

While I would gladly accept your invitation to a four-candidate debate, I will also inform you that should you decide to exclude Senators Avakian, Brown, or Metsger from the format, I will decline your invitation as well.
Quite frankly, knowing how civically minded my colleagues are, I would be surprised if any would accept your invitation if it weren’t extended to all of us.

Thank you again for the opportunity to address your members. We have penciled this debate into our schedule and await a final decision on your format.

Sincerely,

Vicki L. Walker