An Idaho candidate forum ended early last Thursday when a Latah County Commission candidate declined to wear a face covering for the event, a requirement established by the City of Moscow.
Nine candidates were invited to speak at the forum by the League of Women Voters of Moscow, but only four ended up participating. District 5 Senate candidate Dan Foreman (R) and District 5 House Seat B candidate James Hartley (C) declined to participate.
According to forum organizer Susan Zenier, Foreman’s rejection meant his opponent, incumbent District 5 Sen. David Nelson (D), was not allowed to participate.
“As a rule, the League of Women Voters doesn’t hold debates with just one person, so Sen. David Nelson will not be speaking,” Zenier said before the event.
Hartley has two opponents, Renee Love (D) and incumbent Caroline Nilsson Troy (R), who remained eligible to participate. Other participants in the virtual forum included District 5 House Seat A candidates Dulce Kersting-Lark (D) and Brandon Mitchell (R).
While the league planned to conclude the forum with candidates for Latah County Commissioner District 2, Gabriel Rench (R) and incumbent Tom Lamar (D), neither of them made it to the council chambers. Upon arriving at City Hall’s parking lot, Rench said he was asked by Zenier to put a face mask on in compliance with the city’s public health emergency order. Rench declined, citing a medical exemption.
Lamar arrived soon after but kept his distance for several minutes, according to a statement.
“Before I was able to be admitted to City Hall, I received a phone call from the forum organizer and was told that Mr. Rench refused to wear a mask and was claiming a medical exemption,” Lamar stated in a letter. “I was not told the basis or validity of this exemption, nor do I know why this information was provided to the league only minutes before the start of this forum.”
Jen Pfiffner, deputy city supervisor, said the commissioner forum would no longer take place since there were no longer two people able to participate.
According to Rench, forum organizers didn’t say what caused the cancellation.
“I was kind of doubtful she would allow me to participate,” Rench said. “It’s like I got leprosy all over me because I got a stupid medical exemption. It’s just stupid.”
Both candidates signed and returned the forum rule agreement forms before Sept. 25, Lamar said. They also received a similar email Sept. 3, detailing the forum date and COVID-19 restrictions.
“It was made clear to me that the forum would not continue with this situation, given the public health concerns of exposure during this pandemic and the active case rise in Latah County,” Lamar stated. “At no point did I ask the League of Women Voters to cancel the forum, although I respect and agree with their decision to do so for the aforementioned health concerns.”
As the election season ramps up, Rench said some of his campaign signs have been vandalized and stolen from supporters’ yards.
“This resolution is causing real division in our community,” Rench said. “Last week, I had five or six people, maybe more, text me their sign had been vandalized or stolen.”
Early in-person voting for the Nov. 3 General Election is 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays Oct. 13-30 and Saturdays Oct. 17 and 24 at the Latah County Courthouse.
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo.