Saturday forum will feature commission candidates except O’Donnell

Women for Kansas is hosting a Saturday forum that will feature three of the four remaining Sedgwick County Commission candidates.

But Michael O’Donnell, a state senator running against Commissioner Tim Norton for the District 2 seat, will not participate because he says the hosting organization is biased against him.

“I’m not showing up at a forum because we have a group or organization that’s against my candidacy,” O’Donnell said. “They wouldn’t have an unbiased moderator.”

O’Donnell provided a screenshot of a June 7 Facebook post from the group that called Norton “a voice of reason.”

“The idea of Michael O’Donnell replacing Tim Norton is beyond disturbing!” read a screenshot provided by O’Donnell late Thursday night.

Norton, who represents southwest Wichita, Haysville and Clearwater, will attend the forum. And both candidates for District 3, David Dennis and Marcey Gregory, will attend.

The forum will run from 3 to 5 p.m. in the downtown library’s third-floor auditorium at 223 S. Main. It’s free and open to the public.

Women for Kansas’ Lisa Vayda said the candidates will be asked about the county budget, taxes, spending, public safety, the county’s relationship with the city of Wichita and the candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. Some questions from the audience will be allowed toward the end.

O’Donnell took issue with a Facebook post that came from the organization’s Wichita chapter account during the summer. It shared a June 7 Eagle article examining whether Commissioner Dave Unruh, who often votes with Norton on split county decisions, had supported or endorsed O’Donnell.

O’Donnell said the group was encouraging residents not to vote for him.

Vayda, who did not write the post, said it was about making sure candidates were transparent about their endorsements.

“We posted that article just saying you shouldn’t say things like that,” Vayda said.

Vayda said her organization endorses issues, not candidates, and that the event is a forum, not a debate. She said it was unfortunate a Facebook post would keep O’Donnell from participating in the forum.

“No one from our team is going to personally attack him,” she said. “We want to make it as nonpartisan as possible and civil as possible.”

The forum will be the first event featuring both District 3 candidates: Dennis, a retired Air Force colonel, and Gregory, the Goddard mayor. Dennis defeated incumbent commissioner Karl Peterjohn in the Aug. 2 Republican primary. Gregory is running as an independent.

O’Donnell couldn’t go to a June 28 public health forum attended by Peterjohn, Dennis, Gregory and Norton because of a family issue. But O’Donnell says he will attend a Sept. 22 debate against Norton hosted by the Wichita Crime Commission.

“I’m happy to participate in neutral debates and forums,” O’Donnell said.

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Saturday forum will feature commission candidates except O’Donnell."