The Candidate Forum That "Wasn't"

This evening, I arrived at the Candidate Forum co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Plainfield and the neighborhood civic association known as FOSH, ready to face the residents of Plainfield and to discuss the issues with my opponent in the race. I was, therefore, extremely disappointed to learn that the mayor did not show up. The crowd waited anxiously to hear from us. About 30 or so minutes after the scheduled start time of 7:00 pm, with no word from the mayor or anyone else from her camp, the moderator shut the forum down, as forum rules developed by the League of Women Voters do not allow for it to move ahead if there are not opposing candidates. 

After that, the mayor's representative, Barbara James eventually showed up with a letter from the mayor dated this evening (May 22), in which the latter reported that, because of illness, she was "light-headed" and decided not to participate. The letter also insinuated that I had deliberately not shown up at another forum hosted by the NAACP this past Sunday. My friends,nothing could be further from the truth. The mayor's husband, Peter Briggs, who was running that forum, knew full well that I had a conflict on that date, as I had alerted him to it in an email dated May 10, well over a week in advance. He never contacted me again, not even to reschedule. Below is a copy of my response, followed by the original invitation. so that you can see the truth. I am ready to discuss the serious issues facing our community at any time. Anyone asking for your vote should at least show up.