Editor:

It’s really good to see the re-emergence of the League of Women Voters in the Northwoods, as it has been dormant and was missed by many. The local group will be sponsoring a debate on Oct. 2, at 7 p.m., at Nicolet College, and I am deeply disappointed that I will not be able to attend.

I was also told by the organizers that some other people will not be in attendance as well-namely Tom Tiffany, who is running for the State Senate, and Rob Swearingen, who is running for the State Assembly. They have both been invited, and neither of them has confirmed that they will be in attendance. I suspect that it’s just a coincidence that they are both running as Republicans.

Why would someone who is running as a proud Republican be unwilling to participate in a public discussion? It’s always fun to speculate as to why they might have chosen to be non-participants. Maybe they are afraid of people? But both are businessmen, and come into frequent contact with a great variety of people. Both of them have appeared on TV a number of times, and seem to enjoy being on camera, so it can’t be that they are afraid of appearing in front of crowds.

The fact is that neither Mr. Tiffany nor Mr. Swearingen have agreed to participate in the forum. Maybe they just don’t like to talk with people who disagree with them? That would be very sad indeed, because the very basis for Democracy, at all levels, is the willingness of participants to talk with people who hold views other than their own.

I hope that both Mr. Tiffany and Mr. Swearingen will change their minds and participate on the Oct. 7 event.

Jim Leschke, Rhinelander