Chamber: 'We Are Gathering at The Library, Same Time Same Place'

Over the past 36 hours, sponsors of tonight's Belmont City Council Candidates' Forum have been scrambling to figure out what to do about a controversial flyer that was mailed to Belmont residents last week to advertise the forum.

The event was to be co-sponsored by three organizations, the Belmont Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters (LWV) and the Belmont Library/Friends of the Belmont Library. But as of Thursday afternoon, two of the three, LVW and the library have withdrawn their sponsorships. Representatives from LVW were to have moderated the event.

"We are as fair and unbiased as we possibly can be, and the appearance of being unbiased is as important as being unbiased" said Gayle Hardt, director of voter services for the League of Women Voters.

"The flyer sent out under the heading of the Belmont Chamber of Commerce with issues specific to the chamber created the problem."

Hardt explained that no candidate or issues are to be endorsed prior to the forum. 

"The League has a strict nonpartisan policy that governs our participation in forums," a LWV representative said earlier today in an email.

"We didn't want it to appear that we (LWV) were going to endorse a candidate or an issue," said Hardt.

"We've never run across anything like this with a forum we were moderating, and we don't want to set a precedent," she added.

Hardt added that that the League supports free speech, but that groups are to follow the prescribed rules if the League is to moderate.

"We make it very clear that no preset questions are allowed, and we don't reveal any questions to the candidates ahead of time," Hardt said.

The questions for tonight's forum were to have been generated by audience members, and asked by the League rep. 

The LWV said in an email that mailer that was received by Belmont voters last week gives the impression that one of the sponsors has taken a position on the candidates.

Earlier today the Belmont Library and its volunteer organization, Friends of the Belmont Library, also sponsors of the event, pulled out. 

In an email to Belmont Patch, Anne-Marie Despain, Director of Library Services, for the San Mateo County Library system, said, "The San Mateo County Library agrees with the decision made by the League of Women Voters to cancel its participation in tonight’s candidates’ forum at the Belmont Library. It was our understanding that this event was intended to be completely non-partisan.  The Library had no knowledge of and does not endorse the flyer distributed by the Belmont Chamber of Commerce."

The six candidates were informed via email earlier today of the intentions of the LWV and the Library. However, according to Mary Morrissey Parden of the Belmont Chamber of Commerce, the candidates will be present at the Library tonight.

As of 5:30 p.m., Belmont Chamber of Commerce representatives said they are planning to show up at the library and hope that the forum will go on as planned.