September 29, 2020

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Elk Grove.- Debates are an important tool for democracy to work. It is the opportunity for the voters to hear directly from candidates, or at least it should be.

 

Tonight there was a small group of people armed with multiple megaphones right outside the debate site in Elk Grove. They made it nearly impossible for both Mr. Pastor and Ms. Singh-Allen to be heard by the public watching at home. The noise would stop when it was Mr. Ly’s turn to speak.

 

While both Ms. Singh-Allen and Mr. Pastor support people’s first amendment rights, what happened during the debate tonight impeded the public’s right to hear from two of the candidates. It made a mockery out of the process that the Elk Grove Chamber had laid out and it forced them to end the debate only 30 minutes after it had started. 

 

We are disappointed that Mayor Ly refused to take the opportunity provided by the debate organizers to address his supporters and ask them to stop interfering with the ability of other candidates to participate in the debate. 

 

Ms. Singh-Allen and Mr. Pastor would like to take this opportunity to state unequivocally that they encourage ethical participation in the democratic process.

 

They have come together to issue a united message because politics aside, integrity and ethics are values we hold dear in our city and tonight Mr. Ly failed to live up to that.