University cancels California governor debate after accusations of bias from candidates of color
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The University of Southern California canceled its gubernatorial debate scheduled for Tuesday after black candidates who were to be excluded accused the school of discrimination.
Republicans Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, all white, and Democrats Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell and Matt Mahan planned to attend the debate hosted by the University of Southern California Dornsife Center for the Political Future and KABC-TV. But four prominent black Democratic candidates, Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Betty Yee and Tony Thurmond, did not meet the inclusion criteria.
There was no clear leading name. crowded race Before the June 2 primary elections. Ballot papers will be out in early May.
The university defended the formula used to select participants and denied allegations of bias. A public policy professor independently developed the criteria based on candidates’ voting and fundraising activities, the university said in a statement Friday.
A group of 50 public policy and social science scholars from around the country defended the professor in a letter to the university’s president on Monday.
“We call on USC to stand firm in rejecting all efforts to exert political pressure on its faculty and overall academic mission,” they wrote.
But the university reversed course Monday night, saying those hosting the debate could not agree on a solution.
“The data-driven candidate viability formula is based on extensive research and has broad academic support,” he said in a statement. “We also recognize that concerns about the selection criteria for tomorrow’s gubernatorial debate are distracting voters from important issues.”
The debate’s cancellation comes weeks after state Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks Called on candidates to withdraw from the race If the campaigns of two leading Republicans touting the possibility of running in the general election are no longer viable. All GOP general elections are possible under California’s unusual top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on a single ballot and only the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to November.
Hicks on Tuesday released the results of a poll commissioned by the party that showed Hilton, Porter, Bianco, Swalwell and Steyer in close competition, with other candidates trailing behind. Consistent with other recent surveys.
“These results confirm the slim possibility that Democrats will stay out of the general election,” Hicks said. “More importantly, this is a further reminder of the fact that all candidates must honestly evaluate their viable paths to winning.”
Most of the criticism is about Mahan getting ahead of other candidates. Mahan, mayor of San Jose, participated in the race It has outpaced its rivals by months, but has outpaced some of them, thanks in part to contributions from ultra-rich donors in Silicon Valley.
He said he was disappointed the debate was canceled and that other candidates should have been allowed to attend.
“The best way to advance democracy is to include every voice and create discussion forums like this,” he said in an interview.
The debate escalated further Monday as legislative leaders, including the chairmen of the Black and Latino caucuses, called on organizers to open the debate to more candidates.
“We urge California voters to boycott this debate if USC does not do the right thing,” they wrote. “If the university is not going to give voters a fair chance to evaluate everyone running for governor, voters should find other ways to learn about the candidates.”
Villaraigosa, the former Los Angeles mayor who is Latino, celebrated the university’s decision to cancel the debate.
“USC made the right decision, even if it came late and under pressure,” he said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Trân Nguyễn contributed.
