Congressman Lewis rebukes proposal for debate
California Political Desk
October 27, 2008
REDLANDS -- After weeks of stalling, Congressman Jerry Lewis has snubbed Democratic nominee Tim Prince's proposal for a debate.
The Congressman chose to duck the proposal and instead had his wife take a call from KBHR (Big Bear) radio requesting his response.
Arlene Willis, who identified herself as Lewis' Chief of Staff without acknowledging she is also his wife, talked to KBHR on October 24.
Willis uses her maiden name so callers will not know Lewis still employs his wife as his Chief of Staff, which is against the law now but was grand-fathered into the law by Lewis so he and his wife can continue to take home more than $300,000 a year on the public dole.
Willis told KBHR-AM radio in Big Bear "the two candidates had discussed participating in a debate while at a San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast, though nothing definitive was planned."
Prince and Lewis did meet at the breakfast, but Lewis never discussed a debate with Prince. He instead evaded the issue by attempting to avoid meeting Prince at all.
Just last week Lewis was quoted as saying he had not closed the door yet on participating in a debate.
Willis went on to say "Congressman Lewis did not recall receiving the invite," even though Prince campaign officials delivered the proposal by hand, by fax, by email, by postal mail, and called Lewis' district and capitol offices and confirmed with Lewis' staff the Congressman had personally received the proposal.
Now," Willis added, "given the limited time frame before the November 4 election, Congressman Lewis's schedule will not allow for a debate with Democratic candidate Tim Prince prior to voting day."
Lewis has not posted a campaign schedule on either of his websites, and the campaign website does not list a campaign schedule or a campaign phone number to call. The campaign website email list, to which several of Prince's campaign workers are subscribed, has never sent out an email of any kind.
Lewis may be wary of facing Prince, a prominent trial attorney, in a debate, because he has spent more than $1 million defending himself from an investigation by the Justice Department, the FBI, and a federal grand jury into his accepting campaign contributions from the same federal contractor Duke Cunningham was convicted and is in jail for.
Prince campaign officials had negotiated with Lewis' staff for months to develop the debate proposal, which had been pre-approved by the President of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, the Chair of the Department of Government of the University of Redlands, editors and writers at the San Bernardino Sun and the Press-Enterprise, and producers and show hosts at KVCR-TV, KVCR-FM and KCAA-AM.
The proposal presented the Congressman with three dates, and three times on each of the three dates, to choose from.
When Lewis appeared at the University of Redlands last Thursday night, student Jake Boyle asked him if he would debate Prince.
I need to get to know more about him," Lewis said. "I realized that all I really knew was that he ran for office several times. So far I haven't been able to get to know his ideas."
I think the best way to get to know someone is to have a debate with him," Boyle said. "And I think dancing around questions with fun anecdotes and rhetoric is not the way for a politician to act."
Mr. Lewis has hidden from his constituents for more than two years," Prince said. "He continues to escape scrutiny and thwart democracy.
The voters, and I, will not allow that. Although Lewis will not explain himself to the voters in an open, public forum, we know the Justice Department, FBI and federal grand jury are not misguided. We know his staff's refusal to comply with subpoenas is deliberate and calculating.
We need an open, accessible, honest congressman who is unafraid to face his constituents. The voters will restore principles in Congress by electing me."
The Congressman chose to duck the proposal and instead had his wife take a call from KBHR (Big Bear) radio requesting his response.
Arlene Willis, who identified herself as Lewis' Chief of Staff without acknowledging she is also his wife, talked to KBHR on October 24.
Willis uses her maiden name so callers will not know Lewis still employs his wife as his Chief of Staff, which is against the law now but was grand-fathered into the law by Lewis so he and his wife can continue to take home more than $300,000 a year on the public dole.
Willis told KBHR-AM radio in Big Bear "the two candidates had discussed participating in a debate while at a San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast, though nothing definitive was planned."
Prince and Lewis did meet at the breakfast, but Lewis never discussed a debate with Prince. He instead evaded the issue by attempting to avoid meeting Prince at all.
Just last week Lewis was quoted as saying he had not closed the door yet on participating in a debate.
Willis went on to say "Congressman Lewis did not recall receiving the invite," even though Prince campaign officials delivered the proposal by hand, by fax, by email, by postal mail, and called Lewis' district and capitol offices and confirmed with Lewis' staff the Congressman had personally received the proposal.
Now," Willis added, "given the limited time frame before the November 4 election, Congressman Lewis's schedule will not allow for a debate with Democratic candidate Tim Prince prior to voting day."
Lewis has not posted a campaign schedule on either of his websites, and the campaign website does not list a campaign schedule or a campaign phone number to call. The campaign website email list, to which several of Prince's campaign workers are subscribed, has never sent out an email of any kind.
Lewis may be wary of facing Prince, a prominent trial attorney, in a debate, because he has spent more than $1 million defending himself from an investigation by the Justice Department, the FBI, and a federal grand jury into his accepting campaign contributions from the same federal contractor Duke Cunningham was convicted and is in jail for.
Prince campaign officials had negotiated with Lewis' staff for months to develop the debate proposal, which had been pre-approved by the President of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, the Chair of the Department of Government of the University of Redlands, editors and writers at the San Bernardino Sun and the Press-Enterprise, and producers and show hosts at KVCR-TV, KVCR-FM and KCAA-AM.
The proposal presented the Congressman with three dates, and three times on each of the three dates, to choose from.
When Lewis appeared at the University of Redlands last Thursday night, student Jake Boyle asked him if he would debate Prince.
I need to get to know more about him," Lewis said. "I realized that all I really knew was that he ran for office several times. So far I haven't been able to get to know his ideas."
I think the best way to get to know someone is to have a debate with him," Boyle said. "And I think dancing around questions with fun anecdotes and rhetoric is not the way for a politician to act."
Mr. Lewis has hidden from his constituents for more than two years," Prince said. "He continues to escape scrutiny and thwart democracy.
The voters, and I, will not allow that. Although Lewis will not explain himself to the voters in an open, public forum, we know the Justice Department, FBI and federal grand jury are not misguided. We know his staff's refusal to comply with subpoenas is deliberate and calculating.
We need an open, accessible, honest congressman who is unafraid to face his constituents. The voters will restore principles in Congress by electing me."
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