COUNTYWIDE : Gallegly Rules Out Pre-Election Debate

After being criticized by a debate moderator for not appearing at a candidate forum Tuesday, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley) said he has no intention of debating his opponents before Election Day, especially since Congress is trying to forge a new budget agreement.

The two-term congressman’s decision not to participate via satellite from Washington raised protests from his Democratic challenger and the League of Women Voters of Ventura County, the event’s sponsor.

“Elton Gallegly is scared to death that if he has any appearance he’ll be shown to have no grasp of the issues,” said Richard Frieman, an Agoura attorney running as a Democrat. “He’s a backbencher in the House and now he’s hiding out.”

“It defeats the election process when voters do not have an opportunity to hear their candidates,” said Grace Bernstein, the league’s director for Simi Valley and Moorpark.

Contacted in Washington by phone Tuesday during a break in budget deliberations, Gallegly said he feels no need to appear at candidate forums with Frieman or Libertarian candidate Peggy Christensen because his voting record in Congress speaks for him. Gallegly also did not debate his opponent in 1988.

“The reason why I don’t feel a debate is that critical or is in the public interest is that my record is a very public one,” Gallegly said. “Voters can call my office and get my record on any issue they want that’s important to them.”

KADY-TV staged the forum at its Oxnard offices with a symbolic empty chair for Gallegly, just as it did last Friday when Rep. Robert J. Lagomarsino (R-Ventura) did not appear at a similar forum. In a concession not made to Lagomarsino, station executives offered to arrange a satellite broadcast from Washington for Gallegly, who said the program would require too much preparation and would take him from the House floor.