Miscommunication Cancels State Senate Candidates Forum

The League of Women Voters of Melrose (LWV) is taping a candidate forum at MMTV on Wednesday night between state representative candidates Paul Brodeur and David Lucas, but there won't be a forum between state Senate candidates Katherine Clark and Craig Spadafora due to an apparent communication breakdown between the LWV and Spadafora's campaign.

LWV Steering Committee member Anna Bastian said in an e-mail to Melrose Patch that the LWV called each candidates' campaign on Aug. 11 and 12 to advise them to hold the date of Wednesday, Oct. 6 for the LWV candidate forums. Bastian then sent a letter out to each campaign on Sept. 1 confirming the date and time, advising them that additional details regarding the actual time slot and format would be given before the event date. 

"The Spadafora campaign did not respond to the telephone notice to say the candidate was unavailable, and they did not respond to the September 1, 2010 letter to say he was unavailable," Bastian said.

Spadafora campaign spokeswoman Meghan Drummey said in an e-mail to Melrose Patch that she spoke with Bastian on Sept. 28, "when we received a letter about this debate," to inform Bastian that Spadafora was unavailable on Oct. 6 due to two previously scheduled events.

"We never received a letter prior to the one that she sent going over specifics, at no time has any one on staff confirmed verbally this date," Drummey said.

Bastian confirmed that Drummey called her on Sept. 28 about the conflict and not receiving the Sept. 1 letter. However, Bastian said the same computer-printed address label affixed to the second letter that the Spadafora campaign did receive was affixed to the first letter of Sept. 1, which Drummey said the campaign did not receive.

The following day, Bastian left a voicemail message for Drummey "saying we would really like to hold the debate and that the Clark people had said the candidate would make herself available even if it meant canceling something already on the schedule," she said. Bastian asked Drummey for alternate dates that Spadafora would be available to attend a LWV candidate forum with Clark.

"(I) have not yet had a response. At this point, I am not expecting one," Bastian said. "While no one specifically confirmed Spadafora's participation, to me, silence in the face of the September 1 letter (which I have no reason to doubt they received) was assent."

Drummey responded that "initially I was told there were no other dates available until a call the next day. During that call I told Anna I would call back if only I could rearrange his schedule, unfortunately I could not as we have events arranged w/invites sent." She reiterated that no one from the Spadafora campaign ever confirmed his participation in the scheduled Oct. 6 forum.

The candidate forum between Paul Brodeur and David Lucas will be taped as scheduled on Wednesday night and aired repeatedly on MMTV Channel 3 leading up to the election on Tuesday, Nov. 2.