OR-5: Without Erickson response, debate cancelled

A debate that was supposed to feature congressional candidates Mike Erickson (R-Lake Oswego) and Kurt Schrader (D-Canby) was cancelled because debate organizers at the Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce could not get a hold of Erickson, Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce CEO Jerry Wheeler said Tuesday.

“We couldn’t get a hold of Mike Erickson,” Wheeler said. “We tried several times by phone and several times by e-mail and got no response.”

But Erickson campaign manager Jeff Harvey said that with Erickson's busy schedule of running a business and running for congress, it's not to squeeze in an event that they did not know the timing of.

"It's hard to commit to a time when you don't know what date it will be," Harvey said.

The Lake Oswego Chamber of Commerce never set a date for its debate because it was waiting to confirm with both candidates. Since it never heard back from Erickson, it canned the event and decided to turn its attention toward other campaigns.

“We’re focusing on our local races, and we have events coming up for that,” Wheeler said.

The debate was one of five that Schrader proposed to Erickson. The first of those debates, hosted by the Salem City Club, is set to take place Friday. Organizers of that debate said Monday they had not heard from Erickson either, but Harvey said Wednesday taht Erickson had another commitment and would not be able to attend.

That debate will still take place with Schrader and other third party candidates.