GOP lawmaker candidates skip debate; BSU moderator offended
'I have nothing to gain by putting on biased events,' poly sci prof says.
MUNCIE — A Ball State University political scientist who moderated a forum skipped by four Republican candidates for state Legislature took offense at the explanation offered by one of them.
State Rep. Elizabeth Rowray, R-Yorktown, said she didn’t attend the forum primarily because of prejudice against Republicans, as evidenced by sponsorship that included “several highly partisan organizations.”
In addition, “quote-unquote debates” in general are canned, outdated, poorly attended and a time suck, according to Rowray, president/CEO of the Muncie-Delaware County Chamber of Commerce and the Muncie-Delaware County Economic Development Alliance.
The moderator, Charles “Chip” Taylor, an associate professor of political science, disputed the allegations, citing Rowray’s lack of proof, her lack of familiarity with the forum, and possibly her lack of “fortitude” to state the real reasons she declined to participate.
“I have nothing to gain by developing a reputation for putting on biased events,” Taylor said in an interview. “We want both parties to participate.
“I want voters to have a chance to be informed and candidates to have an opportunity to communicate their vision. There are lots of ways to do that. One good way is to show up at town halls and candidate forums and take questions.”
The director of the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State, Taylor went on: “We have a long tradition in this country of candidates showing up and taking questions from voters or debating each other and taking questions from moderators at unscripted, neutral events … If one party starts consistently not showing up, it’s bad for democracy. And that’s what we’re seeing here locally and statewide.”
Rowray cited as evidence of bias the co-sponsorship of the debate by local progressives. But local conservatives also participated as co-sponsors, as organizers have taken steps in recent years to broaden the coalition of forum supporters.
The Sept. 15 event at Muncie Central High School was attended by Rowray’s challenger, Democrat Brad Sowinski, the youth services librarian at Alexandria’s public library, who raised concerns about a GOP war on books, libraries and public schools.
Sowinski, a huge underdog against Rowray, claims the incumbent has been inaccessible and unaccountable. “It is irritating that she’s not present today to discuss it,” he said at the debate.
Later, Sowinski told me Rowray repeatedly ignored his phone calls and emails to her at the House and at the chamber of commerce. “She thinks we know where she stands, but that’s untrue,” he said.
“The only time he contacted me was to set up a debate,” Rowray responded, denying his claims that he communicated with her about legislation.
Rowray ignored Taylor’s invitation to attend the Sept. 15 forum, as did Rep. J.D. Prescott, R-Union City. (Prescott attended a subsequent candidate forum at his home base, Randolph County, sponsored by Farm Bureau, which already had endorsed him).
Also not attending the Muncie Central forum were:
Republican Scott Alexander —a real estate appraiser and the president of Delaware County Council, who is running for the open seat in Senate District 26 to represent Delaware and Randolph counties. He had a council budget hearing on the night of the forum. (Alexander did attend the Randolph County forum held by Farm Bureau, which had previously endorsed him).
Republican Dale Basham, a retired Muncie educator who also cited a scheduling conflict in a message to Taylor but who also skipped a similar forum two years ago, when he ignored the invitation and declined to comment on his absence. Basham declined to comment for this article about his absence this year.
“It is important to show up to engage with the public like we’re doing tonight, to listen to your questions and concerns and share our views with you,” state Rep. Sue Errington, D-Muncie, who is being challenged by Basham, said at the Central forum.
Alexander’s Democratic opponent, Daleville school teacher and former state representative Melanie Wright, said during the forum at Central that
”I think it’s important to have somebody who’s present and shows up” to debate “policy disagreements.”
(Wright attended the Farm Bureau forum, as did Prescott’s challenger, Democrat John Bartlett, an IT professional).
“Biased?” Wright said of Rowray’s rationale for not attending. “No excuse. I walked into the Farm Bureau forum. If you are uncomfortable being in these situations, please consider not running for office. This is part of the gig. You make hard votes; you show up instead of hiding.”
Bartlett added: “The questions were about policy, which the public should know our positions on … It saddens me that the Republicans are skipping these chances for the public to see where they stand on issues. It is not good for elected leaders to not be accessible to the public and simply expect to be elected by people voting straight party.”
Republican legislative candidates also ignored a recent education forum in Muncie sponsored by retired/experienced educators. Alexander called that forum nothing more than “a campaign stunt” organized by Wright supporters, an accusation the organizers denied. Wright, Errington, Bartlett and Sowinski all attended that forum — seated next to four empty chairs.
But returning to the Rowray/Taylor “debate,” here are summaries of my phone interviews with the twosome:
Rowray: “If anyone wants to know how I’m inclined to vote on an issue, they are always welcome to contact me. In addition to that, I now have two years’ worth of voting records that will tell anyone where I lean towards an issue. If you look at my past voting record, you will see that I tend to side with individual rights. I tend to be pro-business. I mean, I’ve been doing 25 years’ worth of work in my career promoting business and economic development for my community.”
Taylor: Looking up a politician’s voting record is different than seeing a politician’s responses to unscripted questions at a public forum and talking about “not just the past but what’s coming up in the future — where it’s not immediately clear where you’re at on things coming up in the future.”
And where is Rowray’s voting record and platform? Taylor found no link to either on her Rowray-for-state-representative Facebook page. Listless on social media, her last Facebook post was a Sept. 30 message urging motorists to be on the lookout for farm machinery during harvest season. Rowray has tweeted only a handful of posts this year, one quoting state police warning slow-moving motorists on interstate highways to stay in the right lane.
Rowray: “I am old enough to remember when debates were put on by organizations that at the very least attempted to not have partisan designs. So it used to be the Bowen Institute, the chamber of commerce and the League of Women Voters. Now, there is a whole list of organizations included in this last debate,” one of which is “highly partisan” and “constantly supporting one Democratic opponent … How is it worthwhile to attend a quote-unquote debate when several organizations are involved that are highly partisan? That’s probably a large reason why people don’t want to attend debates any more. As a citizen … why should I bother to go? This is being put on by a primarily partisan organization.”
The sponsors of the forum, livestreamed by Ball State PBS and broadcast by Woof Boom Radio, were BSU’s Bowen Center, the League of Women Voters, Muncie Action Plan, Shafer Leadership Academy, the local NAACP chapter, Women’s March Muncie, Muncie Resists, and Citizens of Delaware County for Good Government (CDCGG), Taylor noted.
Women’s March Muncie, a pro-choice group, and Muncie Resists are both part of the progressive movement initiated as a reaction to and protest of the election of Donald Trump as president.
A conservative group, CDCGG says on its website that when any serious issues involving local government arise, petitions will be available for signatures at four locations, including Alexander and Co. Real Estate Appraisers, owned by Scott Alexander, the GOP nominee for state Senate.
Taylor said that to increase engagement, forum organizers invited many organizations across the political spectrum to become sponsors, including the chamber of commerce, of which Rowray is CEO; the black chamber of commerce; the local Tea Party, a conservative group within the GOP; and both political parties, all to no avail. Some at least responded; others did not, including the chamber of commerce.
“I wish they would tell me what it is about the process that makes it biased,” Taylor said of how the forum was conducted.
Whether he is asking a broad question of his own or presenting questions from the audience, “I have nothing to gain by introducing bias,” he said. “I want voters to have a chance to be informed.”
For example, the moderator won’t allow someone from the audience who has a beef to ask a gotcha question, like why a candidate did a horrible thing, when the moderator has no idea whether or not it’s true, Taylor said.
“I won’t ask a one-side question that presumes an answer, such as: ‘What do you think about school choice that robs local schools of money?’ or ‘What do you think about school choice that frees people from failing public schools?’ “ Taylor added.
To make sure the questions from the audience were relevant and brief, they were screened by a progressive, Sarah Vitale from Muncie Resists, and a conservative, Jim Arnold from CDCGG, then sorted by another BSU political scientist, Taylor said at the outset of the forum.
Rowray: “It’s unfortunate that people don’t attend debates any more. It’s just a reality that people don’t attend them.”
Taylor said that it’s not surprising that attendance is low when candidates don’t show up. It’s like fans not attending a ball game because one of the two teams skips the game.
Taylor noted that only about half of the 50 or so people in attendance at the Central High School forum stuck around for the second half of the forum. The first half featured candidates for county office, attended by both Democratic and Republican candidates. The second half was the legislative forum. Both Democrats and Republicans also participated in forums during the municipal election in 2019.
Rowray: “The only people who watch candidate forums are supporters or staff of the candidates. So you are either preaching to your own choir or you’re preaching to another choir that’s singing so loudly that they can’t hear your message or don’t want to hear it.”
Taylor: “I want to see some proof that only supporters and staff show up. She’s talking about who attended an event that she did not attend.”
Rowray: “There are so many other ways to get information in today's society” besides candidate forums, where the audience “probably feels like this is going to be canned and people don’t give full and honest responses.”
A better use of her limited time to campaign, Rowray said, is to attend events like the dedication of a section of Ind. 28 in Alexandria in honor of gospel singers Bill and Gloria Gatithers, or to “break bread” with folks at the Washington Street Bridge Dinner in Muncie.
Rowray prefers “just having conversations with people” at those types of events, where, “if they ask me a question point blank, you have to give an honest answer when they’re standing right in front of you,” as opposed to giving “prepared statements and canned answers” at a candidate forum.
Taylor: “It’s one thing to break bread with voters one on one so nothing gets repeated. It’s one thing to visit friendly audiences like the Farm Bureau.” It’s another thing “to submit to open questions” during a public, non-partisan, livestreamed candidate forum broadcast on the radio, Taylor said. “If you choose not to use our venue, fine. That’s a strategy. If your district leans heavily in your favor, why show up where you might get asked an awkward question or stick your foot in your mouth … when you can go safe instead?” If a race is not competitive because your opponent is a huge underdog, “have the fortitude to say that” instead of claiming that you’re avoiding a candidate forum because it’s biased.
Rowray, who also declined to participate in a candidate forum two years ago when she first ran for state representative, said she was not afraid to debate: “No, that’s not it. It really comes down to there is only so much time in the day to meet with people.”
Another news outlet looks at the statewide picture:
More often candidates are sitting out debates, leaving their future uncertain
Previously, in Greater Muncie:
Why did Rowray vote to do away with the 13th check for retired teachers? I would have wanted her to answer that question.
Excuses, excuses, excuses.