Rosalia election challengers pass on candidate's forum

Two of the challengers in the Rosalia town election races have notified the Pullman League of Women Voters that they will not participate in a voters’ forum which had been scheduled for next Saturday, Oct. 7, at 2 p.m in the Rosalia Community Center.

They were among six candidates invited to participate in the forum by the league which limits forum participation to candidates in contested races.

The three Rosalia challengers last week also announced they plan a second “meet and greet” for the following Saturday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m. in Rose Garage at 613 S. Whitman Street. They have encouraged residents to drop in and get to know them and find out where they stand on the issues facing Rosalia.

The Rosalia challengers also conducted a meet and greet this summer in the city park.

Mary Collins, league member who resides at Albion, said they have been advised by Lee Root and Janet Meier Strohl that they will not participate in the Oct. 7 forum.

Lee Root is challenging Mayor Nan Konishi, and Janet Meier Strohl is challenging Councilman Bob Hill.

The other challenger, Jacob Dickinson, is challenging incumbent Eric Eilertson.

Dickinson told the Gazette Tuesday he also does not plan to participate in the Oct. 7 forum which will be conducted by the league.

Dickinson said he didn’t believe the league event had his kind of vibes, and he expected the Oct. 14 session will involve “his kind of people.”

He said he thought the league had also been informed that he will not participate.

That leaves just the three incumbents on the card for the Oct. 7 date.

Mayor Konishi, when asked by the Gazette about the forum plans Tuesday, was unaware that the three challengers had opted not to participate.

Root, who has lived in Rosalia for close to nine years, said he was uncomfortable with the format of the league forums and the circumstances which led the league to Rosalia. He said he asked league officials what led them to travel to Rosalia and conduct an election forum and was told league members had been contacted by his opponent, Mayor Konishi, and asked to bring a forum to Rosalia.

Root said he also questioned the format in which attendees at a forum are asked to write down questions, and the league then reviews the questions before they go to a forum moderator who relays them to the candidates.

Root said he questions whether the practice left the league in control of what questions get asked at the forums.

Collins explained the format used by the league for the forums follows a pattern set by the league at the national level.

She noted a moderator is used in the forum process to avoid a direct confrontation between a candidate and a member of the audience.

The main reasons for the question card practice is to eliminate repetition. Questions on the same topic are usually combined so the moderator can bring the topic up in one question.

Other concerns are questions which could be inappropriate in a public setting, Collins said.

She stressed the league’s goal for the forums is to provide people who attend as much information as possible about the candidates.

Candidates always have the option of not participating and the league offers to read a statement in the event a candidate chooses not to participate, but wants to make some type of statement.

Root moved to Rosalia from Lewiston where he retired after a 29-year career with Clearwater Paper. He moved north to reside closer for family members in Spokane, but he opted to live in a small town. Root purchased the former Feldman Tire shop in Rosalia and resides next door on Whitman Street.