To the editor:

For over 100 years, the League of Women Voters has been considered a fair, nonpartisan arbiter of political matters, and an impartial sponsor of candidate forums and debates. 

Over the years, the League has sponsored and cosponsored countless Newport County candidate events. Traditionally, candidates from all parties and persuasions have been eager to participate in these events and to give the voters, in their own words, the opportunity to share their ideas and ambitions.

This year the Republican candidates in Portsmouth for Senate District 11 and Town Council have chosen not to accept the League’s invitation to participate in candidate forums. All were given a choice of dates and ample notice of the final date, the time, and the place.

The League regrets that the voters of Portsmouth will only hear from Democratic candidates in the Town Council forum scheduled for Oct. 27, and that the Senate forum had to be cancelled because only one candidate agreed to attend. We do remain open to welcoming all town council candidates to join the forum on Oct.s27.

We thank the candidates in Newport and Middletown who did participate in the forums we co-sponsored with Involve Newport, Newport This Week, and The Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce. We regret that the community of Portsmouth will not have the same experience that was offered to Newport and Middletown Voters.

Jill Kassis

Former president

Christine Keyser

Current convener

The League of Women Voters of Newport County