September 26, 2022
Letter to the Editor,
Immediately following the August primary elections, a committee representing the nonpartisan organizations of the LWV-Janesville, LWV-Beloit, LWV-Whitewater Area, LWV-Dane County, and the NAACP of Beloit began work to set up candidate forums for EIGHT county-wide and state legislative races:
- ●Rock County Sheriff
- ●Senate Districts 11 and 15
- ●Assembly Districts 31, 33, 43, 44, and 45
The following in-person candidate forums will take place as both candidates have agreed to participate:
- ●Rock County Sheriff: Curt Fell (D) vs. Craig Keller (I) on Wednesday September 28, 6:00-7:30 pm, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville (broadcast live, live-streamed on YouTube, and recorded by JATV)
- ●Assembly District 45: Clinton Anderson (D) vs. Jeff Klett (R) on Wednesday, October 12, 6:00-7:30 pm, School District of Beloit School Board Room (video recorded)
Regrettably, the other six forums had to be canceled because only one of the candidates running in each of those races agreed to participate. Candidates who agreed to participate are:
Curt Fell (D), Craig Keller (I), Brienne Brown (D), Steven Doelder (D), Mark Spreitzer (D), Jenna Jacobson (D), Sue Conley (D), Donald Vruwink (D), Clinton Anderson (D), and Jeff Klett (R).
Candidates who are not participating in the League’s invitation are:
Ellen Schutt (R), Steve Nass (R), Mark Trumfimchuck (R), Marisa Voelkel (R), Spencer Zimmerman (R), and Scott Johnson (R) .
When a candidate in a contested election declines to accept a League forum invitation, the event must be canceled because proceeding with only one candidate would give an unfair advantage to the sole participating candidate, risking the League’s compliance with FEC and/or IRS rules as well as the League’s nonpartisan policy.
The failure of candidates to participate in League of Women Voters forums deprives the voters of an opportunity to hear the candidates' responses to voters' questions, and deprives their opponents of an opportunity to share their views in a fair and impartial setting.
The League of Women Voters' mission, "Empowering Voters. Defending Democracy," is made more difficult when candidates for office deny voters opportunities to learn their positions.
We encourage members of the public to go to VOTE411--Wisconsin, to find candidate responses from those who participated in the nonpartisan website’s request for candidate information on important issues.
Sincerely,
Bette Carr, Convenor, LWV Beloit
Dorothy Harrell, Voter Service Chair, Beloit NAACP
Linda Reinhardt, President. LWV Janesville
Ellen Penwell and Mary Beth Byrne, Co-Presidents, LWV Whitewater Area