Editorial: Mayor's opt-out would make history in a bad way

South Bend Mayor James Mueller told the South Bend Tribune last week that he doesn't plan to formally debate Republican challenger Desmont Upchurch ahead of next month's general election.

For the sake of residents who will cast their votes for the city's highest elected office, we hope the mayor reverses his stand.

Mueller's declining to debate would make history — and not in a good way: It would mark the first time in at least three decades that South Bend mayoral candidates won’t exchange views side-by-side in a televised event. According to The Tribune's archives, South Bend mayoral candidates have debated ahead of every general election since at least 1995.

Indiana University South Bend's American Democracy Project was scheduled to host a mayoral debate this week along with the League of Women Voters. Mueller's campaign opted not to participate because of scheduling conflicts, his campaign manager said. The mayor also expressed concerns about debating a candidate who has admitted to hitting a woman more than 20 years ago. Mueller told The Tribune that he doesn’t want to normalize violence against women by sharing a public platform with Upchurch, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges for slapping his girlfriend in 2000.

Mueller's campaign expressed such concerns before agreeing to participate in The Tribune's mayoral forum last week. We said then what we say now: A forum (or debate) is the appropriate place to air such issues about a candidate who is on the ballot.

Mueller referred "interested voters" to The Tribune forum where, he noted, "They can see the candidates going head-to-head there."

But voters benefit from as much information as possible, so a single forum — which was more of a conversation than a debate — shouldn't be the only opportunity they have to size up the candidates side-by-side.

Elizabeth Bennion, an IUSB political science professor who leads the democracy project, said she worries about the break from precedent Mueller's decision not to debate would represent. She sees participation in debates as a commitment to democracy.

We expressed much the same sentiment a few years ago in an editorial after a number of candidates for St. Joseph County offices, most of them Republicans, opted out of participating in debates. The explanations for declining to debate included a preference for door-to-door campaigning and a prior commitment to officiate high school girls volleyball games.

None of the reasons offered seemed a legitimate excuse for depriving the public of an opportunity to take the candidates' measure and get a feel for how they handle the unexpected, the unscripted.

Declining to participate in debates, we wrote then and still believe, is an "affront to voters."

Editorials represent the opinion of the Tribune Editorial Board. Its members are Audience Engagement Editor Alesia I. Redding, Enterprise Editor Cory Havens and Executive Editor Ismail Turay Jr.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Mayor Mueller should debate his opponent.