Underwood, Marter blame each other for cancellation of congressional candidate forum
A political forum featuring Democratic U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood and Republican challenger James Marter scheduled for Monday night was abruptly canceled over the weekend.
The League of Women Voters group serving the Aurora area had arranged the meeting between Underwood, of Naperville, and Marter, of Oswego — the candidates for Illinois 14th Congressional District seat.
Underwood and Marter were to answer questions about issues facing the nation from a moderator at an Oswego fire station. While the venue was to be closed to the public, constituents were invited to watch the discussion live at facebook.com/LWVAuroraArea.
That changed Sunday night when the league announced on Facebook that the event had been scrapped. It gave no explanation.
In an email to the Daily Herald on Monday afternoon, league co-presidents Tania Traverso and Nadia Kanhai said the forum was canceled because both candidates wouldn’t agree to a virtual forum.
“This decision was made by the LWV Aurora Area alone without any input from either candidate,” Traverso and Kanhai said.
The group’s statement didn’t explain why the league moved away from an in-person discussion, as both Underwood and Marter had agreed to such a program.
When asked why the league decided to pursue a virtual program, Traverso and Kanhai declined to comment beyond their earlier statement.
In a series of emails to the league and the Daily Herald, Marter called the event’s cancellation “truly disappointing.” He accused the group of reneging on an agreement to host an in-person debate.
“The people of the 14th Congressional District of Illinois deserve better, and I will not insult them with a virtual only appearance,” Marter said.
Underwood’s campaign said she would have participated in either type of forum.
In his emails, Marter accused Underwood of conspiring with the league to cancel the event.
“She’s afraid to show up in-person with me in the district,” Marter said. “She’s afraid to debate in person, period!”
But later in the day, when he spoke to a group of supporters at the planned forum site, Marter acknowledged he had no evidence Underwood was behind the forum’s demise.
Reached by phone Monday afternoon, Underwood said she didn’t conspire to call off the event.
“I was really looking forward to this opportunity to have a discussion in a public forum,” Underwood said. “He’s the one who declined to participate online, not me.”
As for Marter’s claim that she’s afraid to meet him in public, Underwood said she and Marter are scheduled to come together for a campaign forum at the Carillon Club development in Naperville on Thursday.
Underwood also noted the league sought to make the event fully virtual after Marter publicized the location of the closed gathering.
Marter told the crowd at the fire station that he didn’t know the site “was supposed to be secret.”
A video recording of Marter’s remarks at the station is available at facebook.com/JamesMarter4Congress.
Underwood is seeking a fourth term in Congress. Marter, a software consultant and library board member, is making his fifth bid for federal office.
They have opposing views on most issues, including abortion, immigration, the economy and the result of the 2020 presidential election.
The 14th District includes parts of Kane, Will and five other counties. The last day to vote is Nov. 5.