Plans for forum to replace scrapped USC governor’s debate fall apart
A proposed gubernatorial forum hastily put together in the hours after USC canceled Tuesday’s debate broke up because black candidates excluded from the previously scheduled event were unable to show up in person at KNBC-TV’s studio in Universal City, according to multiple sources.
Facing mounting pressure that debate selection criteria excluded all black candidates, the university canceled the debate late Monday. On Tuesday morning, billionaire Tom Steyer, a Democrat, proposed an alternative confrontation moderated by KNBC. But the candidates who were not invited to the USC debate had already made other commitments.
“A lot of this has come out of nowhere; there’s a discussion and you’re not invited, then there’s no discussion, and then maybe we should all hang out and talk,” said Kyle Layman, a strategist who advised former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
USC officials declined to comment on Tuesday’s developments, as did KABC-TV, one of the canceled debate’s broadcast partners. KNBC did not respond to a request for comment, but someone planning a possible debate there said it was impossible to hold such an event in just a few hours and was also unfair to candidates who made other plans after initially being left out of the USC debate.
“We explored the possibility of doing something. It wasn’t possible due to last-minute logistics. It wasn’t possible,” said the person, who asked to remain anonymous to speak openly. “We couldn’t get everyone here.”
But the fact that candidates left out of the USC debate were unable to find a way to attend Tuesday evening’s alternative forum disturbed some people involved in the planning. Becerra, state Supt. Public Instruction’s Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Betty Yee had vociferously protested not being invited to the USC event.
“This is probably one of the last opportunities they have to have with the other leading contenders in the race, so why not take the opportunity?” So said one person involved in conversations about the proposed breaking debate, who asked to remain anonymous to speak openly. “If it’s all about getting your message to voters, making sure voters have as much information as possible, talking about important issues, wouldn’t you want to take every opportunity to do that?
“If you’re going to make a big play on getting your message to voters, on the importance of debates, why wouldn’t you do it?” this person said.
Becerra, Thurmond, Villaraigosa and Yee reportedly made an unofficial agreement not to participate in any discussion that doesn’t involve all of them, as Yee mentioned at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
“The idea that no candidate of color would participate in a debate is inappropriate for a state like California,” Yee said. “We also need to get a commitment from all debate sponsors that they will include us all going forward.”
Yee and Thurmond were not invited to the next major televised debate, which will take place April 1 at Fresno State University. Becerra and Villaraigosa had previously confirmed their attendance, according to a news release from the Western Growers Assn., one of the event’s sponsors.
And all four black candidates were not invited to the April 22 debate with San José Mayor Matt Mahan, which will be hosted by KRON-TV in San Francisco and broadcast on Nexstar Media Group stations across California.
“We don’t need watchmen,” Mahan said Tuesday evening. “I urge my fellow candidates to work together to organize our own debates so we can bring our ideas for a better California to every corner of California. Let the voters truly decide.”
The scrapped USC debate was to be hosted by the institution’s Dornsife Center for the Political Future and co-sponsored by KABC and Univision. Six candidates were invited to participate: Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin), former Orange County Rep. Katie Porter, Mahan and Steyer; along with prominent Republicans, conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Candidates and elected officials said the criteria used to determine participation in the debate were biased because it included Mahan, a white candidate who ranked near the bottom of the ballot but was supported by prominent figures in the USC community. Hours after the debate was canceled, Steyer’s campaign attempted to create an alternative event that would include all candidates.
“We were trying to do the right thing when we found out the debate at USC was canceled,” said a member of Steyer’s campaign, who asked to remain anonymous to speak publicly. “Tom immediately said, ‘We can do something alternative. People want to hear from gubernatorial candidates. It was on the table. It was offered.’
“NBC couldn’t get all the candidates here, but we tried,” this person said. “Given the short amount of time we were trying to put this together, ultimately it couldn’t happen because not all the candidates were able to make it to the studio.”
Thurmond, who was in Sacramento and Richmond on Tuesday, joined political influencers on YouTube Tuesday evening, while Yee attended previously scheduled events with the Eastern District Progressive Democrats and a women’s group in the Los Angeles area. Villaraigosa had scheduled other interviews at his Wilshire campaign office, Becerra was traveling and Porter was scheduled to do a livestream on his Instagram account Tuesday evening.
