Mayor Dick Murphy backed out of an Aug. 26 San Diego Democratic Club (SDDC) mayoral forum after having twice confirmed the engagement, members of the SDDC have said. The club received a letter on Aug. 17 from Murphy’s campaign stating that, due to a scheduling conflict, the mayor would be unable to attend the forum. The forum will continue without the mayor, with County Supervisor Ron Roberts’ office confirming that Roberts would attend the forum regardless of the mayor’s absence.

“At SDDC forums, the candidates typically appear together,” explained Stephen Whitburn, SDDC’s president. “They deliver opening statements, take turns answering questions from the membership and then deliver their closing statements. The membership can then discuss the candidates and vote on whom to support. The procedure remains the same even when only one of the candidates is present; the membership still has the opportunity to rate each of the candidates.”

Whitburn said that the first confirmation call from Murphy’s office was to verify that the mayor would attend the forum, and the second call was to state that while Murphy would participate in the forum, he would not be completing the candidate questionnaire.

The questionnaire asks several dozen yes-or-no questions to identify a candidate’s position on specific issues, mainly those relating to GLBT equality, but other topics such as reproductive freedom, school prayer and workers’ bargaining rights are also included.

Paola Avila, Murphy’s campaign manager, said that Murphy did not fill out the questionnaire because, since Roberts and Murphy are both Republicans, they are ineligible for the SDDC’s endorsement and were told it was not necessary to complete the questionnaire.

“The SDDC only endorses Democrats, and Murphy and Roberts are both Republicans,” Whitburn explained. “How-ever, all candidates who fill out the candidate questionnaire can be considered for a rating of ‘acceptable’.”

Whitburn said Murphy’s refusal to complete the questionnaire and his absence at the forum means that, as a Republican, he is only eligible for a rating of “no position” or “unacceptable.”

Roberts’ campaign manager, Lisa Ross, said Roberts will be completing the questionnaire.

“The San Diego Democratic Club will proceed with the mayoral forum, and we look forward to hearing from the mayor’s challenger, Supervisor Ron Roberts,” Whitburn said. “The membership will have an opportunity at the meeting to rate both candidates, and those ratings will be reflected in the SDDC’s candidate advertising and the SDDC Voter Guide, which will be mailed to 15,000 LGBT-friendly households before the election.”

Murphy has yet to engage in public debate with Roberts.

“With all the FBI and U.S. Attorney investigations into financial misconduct at the city, I wouldn’t want to show up either,” Ross said. “Nor would I face the [San Diego Democratic] Club after four years of not showing up publicly in the LGBT community.”

Avila said that, although the mayor was unable to attend the SDDC club debate, he will attend The Center’s candidate forum on Sept. 8.