There has been a lot made about the fact that this week”s candidates” forum was closed to the public. The night of the forum there was a peaceful group of protesters outside the high school auditorium in Kelseyville to communicate their displeasure with the open to law enforcement and the media- only debate.
While we think it would have been a good idea to make it an open forum, we understand and respect the rights of the private law enforcement organizations that held the event. Our take on the purpose of the forum was that it was to provide information early in the election year to police officers, sheriff”s deputies, corrections officers, probation officers and other service providers because of the impact the outcome might have on them in the future.
If the candidates” forum had been coordinated by county government and it was closed to the public, that would have been something to protest, but it wasn”t.
There will be additional candidates” forums during the election season. We imagine that they will all be the type of forums that will be open to anyone who wishes to attend.
