The editorial board said they received threats to disrupt the debate between Jules Bailey and Ted Wheeler, scheduled for Monday at Revolution Hall.
Over the past several days, a number of people have threatened to disrupt Monday evening’s debate between Portland mayoral candidates Jules Bailey and Ted Wheeler. The Oregonian/OregonLive takes these threats very seriously. Out of concern for both the safety of those who’ve registered to attend and the security of the venue, Revolution Hall, we have decided to cancel the event.
We offered both candidates an opportunity to hold the same debate without a live audience and to live stream it on OregonLive.com. Both candidates declined to accept the alternative.
We regret the inconvenience to those who had registered to attend tomorrow’s debate.
(READ MORE: Oregon Live)
Members of the Facebook group “Tell The Oregonian: Stop choosing our mayoral candidate for us!” had plans for civil disobedience because they were “unhappy with the decision to invite only two of the 12 registered candidates,” according to OPB.
The Oregonian has said its goal was to make the best use of one hour, and that meant focusing on the two candidates who have held elective office and ‘clearly stand out from the crowd.’
(READ MORE: OPB)
