The University of Southern California canceled a California gubernatorial debate planned for Tuesday night after rebutting accusations of racial discrimination made by candidates of color.
“Concerns about the selection criteria for tomorrow’s gubernatorial debate have created a significant distraction from the issues that matter to voters,” the university wrote in a statement Monday night. “Unfortunately, USC and KABC have not been able to reach an agreement on expanding the number of candidates at tomorrow’s debate.”
The only invited candidate not in the top six in the Berkeley poll was Democrat and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who was tied for seventh with 4 percent of the vote, behind Latino Democrat Xavier Becerra, who had 5 percent.
“Professor [Christian] Grose is one of the most respected scholars in the field of elections and political science. He is regularly called upon by nonpartisan and independent organizations to provide data analysis and objective analysis,” USC Dornsife said. “We have reviewed his research extensively and see no legitimate reason to question its credibility.”
Mahan finished fifth under this scoring system and qualified for the debate because of his significant fundraising. The university said these parameters were set last year when candidates were notified that a debate with top-performing candidates would take place.
“We have had in-depth discussions about expanding the debate’s format; however, there is a significant gap between the top six candidates and the seventh, eighth and ninth placed candidates,” they said. “It simply would not be fair or feasible to invite every candidate in such a crowded field.”
Prior to USC’s cancellation of the debate, a group of 50 public policy scholars from across the country defended the professor in a letter to the university’s president on Monday and urged USC to stand firm in rejecting political pressure on its faculty and academic mission.
“The controversy does not arise from a flawed method,” they wrote. “It arises because a defensible, objective method produced results that certain candidates and campaigns do not prefer.”
The same day, legislative leaders, including chairs of black and Latino caucuses, sent a letter to organizers on Monday calling for alternative parameters.
“We fought. We won! We stood up against an unfair candidate debate set-up that prematurely chose winners and losers,” he said. “Tonight USC made the right decision to cancel their March 24 gubernatorial forum … so hopefully next time it’s done right.”
“The answer isn’t to cancel debates, it’s to hear all voices,” he said. “Our democracy is stronger when more people are part of the conversation and our solutions become better when we debate them openly.”
