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Democratic challenger Catherine Kanter claims incumbent Republican County Councilman Richard Snelgrove is ducking debates with her.
So Kanter called a news conference Thursday to highlight what she feels are the main points that distinguish her from Snelgrove, who is seeking a second term as an at-large councilman.
"She's flat-out wrong, grasping for straws on that one," Snelgrove responded later Thursday, maintaining all political campaigns have jampacked schedules as Election Day approaches and the proposed debate nights didn't fit the itinerary he's following .
"There's a limited number of hours and hundreds of thousands of potential voters we need to reach," he added. "We deploy our times differently. She has to do what's best on her campaign to get voter engagement."
Kanter said debates would have been an ideal forum to help Salt Lake County voters make decisions, especially since they had reputable sponsors — the John R. Park Debate Society at the University of Utah and the Utah League of Women Voters.
But in rejecting invitations to take part, Kanter said Snelgrove denied voters "an opportunity to make informed decisions" about where the candidates stand on important issues facing Salt Lake County in the next few years.
She rejected Snelgrove's contention that he had a scheduling conflict with the Park Debate Society's dates and said her GOP foe "simply refused" to participate, a stance clearly in contrast with his claims to be open and transparent.
Snelgrove insisted there was a direct conflict. The first suggested Oct. 19 date was the night of the third presidential debate, he noted, at the same time he was holding a debate-watching fundraiser at Wheeler Farm.
A second option didn't work either, Snelgrove said, adding he and Kanter have appeared together at numerous meet-the-candidate functions that work just as well as debates in informing voters.
Michael Middleton, director of the John R. Park Debate Society, confirmed that Snelgrove had responded to the invitation to debate, citing the schedule conflicts on both proposed nights.
"It was nothing out of the ordinary, just schedules that couldn't match," said Middleton, adding the society will hold four debates starting Tuesday and was hoping a Kanter-Snelgrove faceoff would be the fifth.
While disappointed Snelgrove said no, Middleton said "that's the nature of these sorts of events. The people involved are quite busy. It never struck me as something irregular."
A League of Women Voters leader could not be reached for comment.