Funny things are happening on the way to holding a 1st Congressional District candidate forum.
Let’s start with what we know:
The event is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at The Heights, Richmond Heights’ community center, at 8001 Dale Avenue.
The sponsors are the Hadley Township and Clayton Township Democratic committees, political groups operating in heavily Democratic areas of central-west ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
Invites were extended to incumbent U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ; ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell; and former state legislator Maria Chappelle-Nadal.
Those three will square off in the Aug. 6 primary, with the victor virtually assured of winning the November general election in the overwhelmingly Democratic district.
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The candidates will give a short presentation, 3-5 minutes each, and then the public will be invited to ask questions.
But after that, things get murky.
Nelson Mitten, chairman of the county’s Democratic Central Committee, said early Tuesday afternoon that he had received confirmations from Bell and Chappelle-Nadal — but no word from Bush.
Mitten is by no means alone when it comes to not hearing from Bush. Her campaign camp did not respond to two emails from the Post-Dispatch, asking if she would be attending.
And it seems that Bush’s people aren’t talking to Bell’s people either.
“We have reached out to the Bush campaign to try to schedule debates, but have yet to get a response,â€Â said Vriti Jain, Bell’s campaign spokesperson.
So later Tuesday, Bell’s camp said he would not be attending the event because of the mystery surrounding Bush’s plans.
If some wonder if Bell also wishes to avoid a head-to-head forum with Chappelle-Nadal — who has pursued a social media campaign attacking Bell for his professional and personal conduct — his campaign says otherwise.
“Including Chappelle-Nadal is not an issue,†Jain said, adding that “the question before voters is whether to replace Cori Bush or not, so any debates should include her.â€
When contacted Wednesday afternoon about the latest developments, Mitten said he had not heard from Bell’s camp that he would not be attending.
But after all that, it’s quite possible that just one major candidate, Chappelle-Nadal, will be in attendance.
“Every single voting citizen has the right to hear from their candidates; people deserve to get answers to their questions,†she said. “That’s how democracy works.â€