<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<H2>All but one Republican skips MCA debate </H2><BR>
<ADDRESS>By Megan Doyle<BR>Daily News staff writer </ADDRESS><BR>Latah County
Commissioner Jack Nelson was the only Republican candidate present Monday at a
debate sponsored by the Moscow Civic Association.
<P>Nelson said he had nothing to lose by attending the event.
<P>"I wish my other candidates had come," Nelson said.
<P>Latah County Republican Chairman Barrett Schroeder expressed concern over the
fairness of the MCA debates and suggested Republican candidates not attend. A
second MCA debate for state house candidates is scheduled for Wednesday at the
1912 Center in Moscow.
<P>Schroeder could not be reached today for comment. But in an opinion piece in
Friday's Daily News, Schroeder raised a number of issues, including what he
called the unfairness of planted questions by candidates, one-on-one debates
that would exclude independent sheriff candidate Joe Overstreet, and the
importance of having questions about the issues rather than personal attacks.
<P>After negotiations with the MCA, John Irby was picked as a moderator from a
list submitted to the MCA by Daily News editor and publisher Nathan Alford. The
MCA chose Irby, a professor in the school of journalism at Washington State
University, because they felt he would be neutral.
<P>Still, most Republican candidates did not attend the MCA forum.
<P>"I think it is unfortunate they don't want to speak to us," MCA President
Lois Blackburn said. She sat most of the night hoping other Republican
candidates would show up.
<P>"They didn't belittle me at all for coming here," Nelson said about his
fellow Republican candidates.
<P>"I do appreciate Jack coming out tonight," said Nelson's challenger, Democrat
Linda Pike.
<P>"They were most cordial to me in Troy," she added.
<P>The county commissioner and sheriff candidates also were invited to a forum
at the Troy Lion's Club Monday night. All of the candidates attended that event,
but Republican candidate Jeff Harkins for commissioner and Wayne Rausch for
sheriff did not attend the MCA event.
<P>"I regret my opponent didn't come," incumbent county Commissioner Tom
Stroschein said.
<P>Harkins defended his reasons for not attending the MCA debate.
<P>"Initially, I was unhappy with some of the protocols," Harkins said about the
MCA debate. He added that negotiations with the MCA had broken down and he began
receiving threats that if he didn't attend the forum he would be harmed.
<P>Harkins said his integrity was being challenged.
<P>"What I won't do is yield to pressure to get votes," Harkins said.
<P>Harkins added that the extra time he had at the forum in Troy was beneficial.
<P>Stroschein said he and Harkins have participated in 14 separate forums. For
the MCA debate, Stroschein said he prepared a statement clarifying some of the
facts and figures his opponent has raised in the past.
<P>"I would have appreciated his response," Stroschein added.
<P>Stroschein began his presentation at the MCA debate with jokes about the
differences between Republicans and Democrats.
<P>"Democrats eat the fish they catch, Republicans hang them on the wall,"
Stroschein told the audience. He said he had personally invited Harkins to the
MCA forum.
<P>Sheriff candidate Joe Overstreet, an independent, said a candidate who does
not appear to hear or answer questions from the public does not deserve to be
elected.
<P>"I'm very disappointed," Overstreet said.
<P>Besides finding it necessary to present a unified front by Republican
candidates, sheriff candidate Rausch had other reasons for not attending the
event.
<P>"Given the choice again, I'd make the same decision," Rausch said.
<P>Rausch said he received an anonymous e-mail that said the writer planned to
ask him about his mental health. Rausch said there was another incident in which
he was told he would be subjected to improper questions at the MCA forum if he
attended.
<P>If the questions had been asked, Rausch said, they would have hurt his
credibility, no matter how he answered.
<P>Incumbent Sheriff Jeff Crouch, a Democrat, said that despite suggested
problems surrounding the forum, he would have liked it if Rausch attended.
<P>"I was looking forward to having a more interactive conversation," Crouch
said.
<P><STRONG>Megan Doyle can be reached at (208) 882-5561, ext. 237, or by e-
mdoyle@ dnews.com. </STRONG>
<P></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>