May 24 Letters to the Editor

Indivisible Asheville/WNC contests DA debate account

In a May 10 letter to the editor, a representative from the Ben Scales campaign stated that District Attorney Todd Williams "refused to participate" in a public form requested by Indivisible Asheville/WNC. In fact, Indivisible Asheville/WNC never asked Mr. Williams or any candidate for county office to participate in any forum.

In March, a local activist asked us to help with publicity for a District Attorney forum being planned by another group with limited promotional resources. We agreed, but soon learned that both candidates hadn't been included in initial planning and that the individual coordinating the event was a representative of the Scales campaign. We immediately canceled our part in the publicity. The individual later acknowledged they'd intended that "the forum would happen with or without Todd (Williams) and we would have an empty chair should he decide not to come."

Indivisible Asheville/WNC holds strongly to our mission of "defending democracy with informed community action in Western North Carolina." We work hard to encourage civic engagement, and we seek to partner with others in ways that support openness and transparency. We chose not to endorse any candidates in the primary, and we regret any appearance of complicity in what seems to have been a poorly planned partisan act.

Barbara Stalzer, Dave Rubin, Brenda Murphree
Indivisible Asheville/WNC