BY PATRICK CROWLEY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
From "Campaign Guide to Winning," a self-published political tome by Lloyd Rogers, former Campbell County judge-executive and current Alexandria mayoral candidate:
"If a candidate sees themselves as out in front in the race, it would be wise to counsel with some of your advisors and supporters before agreeing to debate. You may want to refuse. Why give your opponents a chance to gain on you because you may make a mistake in a debate?
"It happens quite often. A slip of the tongue has sunk many a campaign."
Blame that bum knee
Well, Mr. Rogers took his own advice this week. So did a few other candidates for Alexandria City Council. They blew off a forum sponsored by the Alexandria Community Business Association.
Mr. Rogers said he couldn't make Mondaynight's forum because he had been to the doctor's office and his knee was bothering him. "That knee didn't seem to be bothering him a couple of days ago when he was campaigning door to door," one candidate said before the forum began.
Mr. Rogers apparently does have a knee problem, but he is also suffering from a perverse sense of public service.
Instead of standing up before the voters and answering questions from the media, Mr. Rogers not only advocates but also practices ducking debates and forums if the political terrain isn't exactly to his liking. This is the second such forum he's backed out of.
The heck with the voters and what they might learn from a head-to-head comparison between candidates, Mr. Rogers apparently believes. He's too worried about his own political skin to stand up before a public body and talk about the issues.
Mr. Rogers is hardly alone in this election year. A lot of candidates have doctor appointments or prior commitments or other somewhat lame excuses for missing debates and forums.
Alexandria council candidate Steve Roth refused to show for the same forum Mr. Rogers dropped out of. Mr. Roth, a political crony of Mr. Rogers', has some misguided notion that the forum would be biased.
It wasn't. It was reporters asking the candidates who did show up questions about repairing sewers and streets, building new parks, improving roads and running the city.
No hidden agendas or loaded questions.
And it must be noted that while Mr. Roth did not show up at the forum, he or somebody in his campaign left letters explaining his absence on the car windshields of residents who cared enough about their community to show up and hear what the politicians had to say.
In the 4th District congressional race, Democrat Ken Lucas has dodged plenty of opportunities to appear at forums and debates with his Republican opponent, State Sen. Gex "Jay" Williams of Boone County.
Mr. Lucas' campaign has informed KET in Lexington its candidate won't be showing up for tonight's statewide televised debate with Mr. Williams. It's assumed Mr. Lucas will show up for a debate Saturday at Northern Kentucky University.
It goes on and on. U.S. Rep. Jim Bunning is debating his opponent in Kentucky's U.S. Senate race, U.S. Rep. Scotty Baesler, a Lexington Democrat.
Bunning's bow-outs
But Mr. Bunning has over the years refused to debate some of his challengers while seeking re-election to Congress. Most recently was 1996, when he wouldn't debate Democrat and Covington Mayor Denny Bowman. These candidates figure they have too much to lose by debating their opponents. But it's the political process and the voters who really lose.
Republicans not for "Republicans for Lucas." The Lucas campaign has rolled out "Republicans for Lucas," a committee of 150 Northern Kentucky GOPers who are backing the Democrat in the 4th District race.
The group is headed by two former leaders in the Republican Party, Kevin Murphy and Mary Fisher. And it has raised the ire of plenty of GOP bigwigs.
Ms. Fisher was head of the state GOP when Republican Larry Forgy ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Paul Patton in the 1995 governor's race.
During the 1996 primaries she stood up for her belief that abortion shouldn't be a dominant issue in every political race in Northern Kentucky, which is pretty much the way it is now around here. For that she was basically shown the door when it came to leadership within the Republican ranks.
Ever since, and really even before, she has bristled at the strident, fundamentalist conservatism Mr. Williams and his supporters bring to the party.
Still, Mr. Forgy said Wednesday he was "very disappointed" that Ms. Fisher is backing Mr. Lucas.
"Mary is making a serious mistake," said Mr. Forgy, who has campaigned for Mr. Williams. "Gex Williams is a conservative Republican who is no more out of line in terms of ideology than most of the people I've supported for Congress in the past 30 years.
"I know Mary is upset about the pro-life question, but the fact is that Gex Williams represents the majority of Northern Kentucky on that issue," he said.
Party dismissal
Other party leaders weighed in as well.
"The idea is for Republicans to elect Republicans," said Greg Shumate, head of the Kenton County Republican Party. "And I'm sure I could go out and easily find 150 Democrats who back Gex Williams."
"It would be giving them too much credit to even consider (Republicans for Lucas) a minority group," said 4th District GOP Chairman Damon Thayer of Grant County.
"They are so small, they aren't even a minority."
Patrick Crowley covers Kentucky politics for The Kentucky Enquirer. His column appears Thursdays and Sundays. He can be reached at 578-5581, or (502) 875-7526 in Frankfort.
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