Lebanon, Pa. (October 14, 2022) – The Lebanon County Democratic Committee was deeply disappointed to learn of the cancellation of the planned candidates’ night forum on Monday, October 24, 2022 at the Lebanon Municipal Building Auditorium. The refusal of all five Republican Party candidates to participate in this forum deprives Lebanon County voters of a valuable opportunity to hear the candidates’ own ideas about the topics and issues most important to them.
At the same time, we support the decision by WLBR’s Laura Lebeau not to remove the NAACP as a co-sponsoring organization. The NAACP, founded in 1909, is a non-partisan organization that champions civil rights. Voter protection rights, a major priority of the NAACP, are vital to our democracy. Fighting against inequality should not be considered a partisan activity. We hope that Americans of every creed support the idea that our government should work for all of its people.
It also sets a dangerous precedent for either of the two major parties to dictate these types of moderated forums. WLBR has a long history of co-hosting these events for Lebanon County, and has always served as an impartial moderator. There is no reason to believe that this year would have been any different.
Again, our candidates are ready to participate in a moderated debate and eager to share with voters their vision for moving Lebanon County forward. We are deeply disappointed that the citizens of Lebanon County will not have the opportunity to hear from all the candidates at one place and one time.
Author: Amaury Abreu
