This article has been updated.
I’m big on calling out debate duckers. I’ve done it before with Bill Richardson, Steve Pearce and others.
Now, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez is using a lame excuse to ditch the first forum of the mayoral race tonight.
The New Mexico Independent is reporting that Chávez won’t attend the forum, which is hosted by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. His reason? According to NMI, “the mayor felt that participating in the forum would be inappropriate because although he has qualified for public financing, and collected thousands of signatures and donations, he has not officially announced his candidacy.”
Chávez has said he won’t declare his candidacy until the budget process is complete. The election is in October.
Chávez is playing the political game by using the budget process as an excuse to rest on his incumbency instead of getting out and discussing things with his challengers. That’s a disservice to voters.
In addition, Republican state Rep. Richard Berry won’t attend the AFSCME forum because he is out of town, according to NMI.
Again, come on. Make it a priority to attend these events. I understand that AFSCME probably won’t endorse the only Republican in the race, but this is an important forum. And the first. Berry should be there.
Now, I don’t know what his out-of-town business is, so I’m not labeling Berry a debate ducker. But Chávez’s excuse is weak, so he absolutely gets the label.
The other candidates, former New Mexico Senate leader Richard Romero and Rudy Serrano, will be in attendance. NMI will webcast and liveblog the forum. You can watch and participate by clicking here.
Update, 9 p.m.
Berry’s campaign manager, Dana Feldman, wrote in an e-mail that Berry “is on the annual New Mexico Amigos trip.” He’s currently in Michigan with other state and local leaders.
“He signed up for the trip several weeks before he announced he would run,” Feldman said. “RJ met with Carter Bundy and other members of the AFSCME leadership last week in lieu of not being at the forum. They knew RJ would not attend.”