Count Wake County school board candidates Deborah Prickett and Matt Scruggs out of the upcoming forums sponsored by the League of Women Voters, WakeUP Wake and other pro-busing groups.
Prickett declined in an interview Thursday to say why she won’t attend the District 7 forum. Marian Lewin of the League of Women Voters of Wake County said Prickett didn’t explain why when she told the group she wouldn’t come.
Scruggs says he’s not going to next week’s District 2 forum because of a scheduling conflict. Scruggs said he had previously agreed to appear at a campaign event in Fuquay-Varina that night.
Lewin had previously indicated that all the candidates had agreed to attend. It looks like, though, it was more a case of an assumption that people were coming unless they said no. In Prickett's case, Lewin assumed that she'd come because she's an incumbent.
Lewin hadn’t gotten a no until hearing from Prickett after the blog post ran ran indicating that organizers said all the candidates had agreed to attend.
Lewin said she’s re-contacting the candidates to make sure they’re attending.
In the case where only one candidate attends, as what took place in 2011 when Venita Peyton didn’t attend the District 4 forum, Lewin said it will turn into a “community forum.” People will be able to ask the sole candidate present questions.
You can speculate why Prickett may not have wanted to attend. Was it because she doesn’t think the forums are as non-partisan as they’re supposed to be?
It’s uncertain when Prickett and fellow District 7 candidate Zora Felton will appear at the same event.
But Scruggs will appear with fellow District 2 candidate Monika Johnson Hostler at a forum Tuesday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Star Theater at 123 East Vance Street in Fuquay-Varina. It’s sponsored by the Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce.
Johnson Hostler will be at a Raleigh Wake Citizens Association event in Raleigh at 6 p.m. Tuesday. But Johnson Hostler said she will try to leave the RWCA event early enough to make it to Fuquay-Varina on time.