PORTSMOUTH — The Town Council candidate forum scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 27, may be absent of any Republicans.

The League of Women Voters of Newport County and the CFP Arts, Wellness and Community Center will host the forum from 7:30-9 p.m. on Thursday at the center.

In a letter to The Portsmouth Times, Jill Kassis, former League president, and Christine Keyser, its current convener, said 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.”

On Monday, council member Keith Hamilton, a Republican running for re-election, said there was no collective decision by the GOP to skip the forum.

“Absolutely not,” Hamilton said. “I’ve encouraged all the candidates to do as many events as they can.”

The date of the event simply wasn’t convenient, he said.

“We were given a date — 7:30 on the 27th. I’m out of town for business all week, Sharlene (Patton) has a Rotary event for Veterans Week and can’t make it,” Hamilton said, adding he wasn’t sure about the other candidates.

Besides Hamilton and Patton, the other Republicans running for council are David Gleason and David Reise.

Rounding out the ballot are Democrats Daniela Abbott, J. Mark Ryan, Kevin Aguiar, Charles Levesque, Juan Carlos Payero, Timothy Grissett, Leonard Katzman, and independent candidate Michael DiPaola.

“We do remain open to welcoming all town council candidates to join the forum on Oct. 27,” the letter from Kassis and Keyser stated.

The community center is located at 933 Anthony Road.

For those who are not able to attend, live-streaming will be available at www.commonfencepoint.org/live.