I am a ” nonpartisan and independent” candidate and, unlike Dave, I did protest both at the PCIC and in a press released after the event.  Here is how it looked from the outside looking in, Carolyn.Sunday afternoon, the Pima County Interfaith Council denied nonpartisan Senate Candidate  Ted Downing (LD28) the right to speak to their congregations at their 2010 Accountability Session held in the Tucson Community Center because he is not a Republican or Democrat.  Downing asked to enter and was refused by PCIC officials. He distributed his campaign palm cards showing the explosive increase of Arizona independent registrations. The literature was removed by 7 PCIC security guards who inspected women’s purses and, on some occasions, removed political literature from the persons of attendees. One woman put Ted’s card into her bra and said “let them dare take it.”  PCIC officials called the police and threatened Downing and a Green party candidate Kent Solberg (LD27) with arrest for trespassing if they entered the premises.Ted Downing, a former 2 term state legislator and a nonpartisan independent candidate for the State Senate in LD28 had addressed the PCIC at three previous state legislative elections, but as a Democrat.  Democratic candidates Paula Aboud and Republican Greg Krino shared the stage.  Downing was told he could listen to his opponents but not speak. State Rep. Representative Vic Williams joined Downing and others, protesting their mistreatment.“Independents outnumber Republicans in Legislative District 28” said Downing, the Research Professor of Social Development at the University of Arizona, “but the Republican candidate was allowed to speak and I was not.”  He continues,   “I am running as a nonpartisan to tone down the hyper-partisanship in this state and this action only further polarizes a community that is already too divided along partisan lines. Are the Churches in Tucson endorsing the Republican and Democratic parties to the exclusions of nonpartisans and independents in their flocks?  When and how will it end?”“For an organization whose focus is accountability, it is time to look in the mirror” says Downing.  “From the way they are behaving, PCIC would probably not invite Jesus to the Last Supper unless he was a Democrat or Republican”   “I was denied the opportunity to address a large assembly and I am on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate, side by side the Republican and Democratic candidates. The people are fed up with the view that Parties are entitled to political seats.   I hope it doesn’t take the jawbone of an ass to resolve this.” Ted said. Arizona needs to get this partisan bickering behind it and move onto the key issue of how to strengthen our deeply fractured economic foundation” said Downing.www.votedowning.com 

 
Below is a copy of the letter that my campaign staff and I distributed not only in protest of the fact that I was not invited to participate in PCIC’s Accountability and Agenda Setting event, but also as an educational tool to inspire debate as to what participatory democracy really is about. My handout also included my biography, a position paper against SB1070 and 1/4 page campaign brochure. I wanted PCIC and its members to get to know me and to see that so many of my ideas, values and campaign issues are consistent with their agenda, which they chose not to share with me and other uninvited candidates which are on the November ballot. It is a shame that PCIC, which does such important work in our community, is so blind to the importance of candidate inclusion, open debate and the democratic process. I would also like to say something about the illegal search and seizure perpetrated on the 1,000 plus people attending the event. Literature was pulled out of their hands, purses, and pockets without regard for the law and without the permission of the people entering the event. One of the TCC attendants even pushed me because I would not leave a public place where I had every legal right to be. As the political and social crisis in our country grows due to the economic downturn that we face, WE as a nation and as community of peoples need to be very careful and most diligent not to let the rights of individuals be compromised or to let the threat of authoritarianism raise its ugly head.   Dear Voter, Limiting Debate, Discussion and Points of View is not democratic and is not consistent with the Pima County Interfaith Council’s stated goals and purposes. The PCIC does not endorse candidates, however in this case it is in fact endorsing two political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, over all others by not inviting other political parties or candidates to participate in today’s program.  My name is Kent Solberg and I am the Green Party Candidate for the State Legislature in LD27. I am the Co-owner of Kent’s Tools and have lived in Tucson for 39 years. I have a BA in Business Administration and a Master of Social Work. I have worked with and been an advocate for youth and families my entire adult life; please see my attached biography. I’m running for one of two open seats in my legislative district, a district where there are no incumbents this time around. Because of that and the positive campaign for change that I’m running, I have an excellent chance of becoming a state legislator, provided of course I’m given fair opportunities to present my views. By limiting the invited participants in today’s program you are not only misrepresenting the choices your members have when they go to the polls, but you are denying them the opportunity to hear what other candidates have to say about the important issues of education, family services, mental health, jobs and the economy. Personally, I would have liked to have heard your agenda and to have been given the opportunity to understand your perspective of this critical time in history. The decisions that we make today will have far reaching effects on the future of our families and their families. The quality of life and the support and services that government provides its citizens are at stake. Our government needs to be fixed and it is only by looking outside of the box that this is going to happen. Let’s work together – You and Me – to bring fairness, pride and prosperity back to Arizona. Sincerely,Kent Solberg, Green Party Candidate for LD27