In Pa.'s Eighth District, they meet at last

The questions from the audience were broad and unscripted, hitting topics like abortion rights, climate change, college tuition, and foreign policy.

But at a political forum last week in Trevose, Bucks County, cosponsored by the local NAACP, Democratic congressional candidate Kevin Strouse was the only one there to answer.

His opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R., Pa.), declined an invitation, saying he had to deliver briefings in Washington after returning from a trip to the Middle East the previous day.

At the forum, Strouse pounced.

"You need representatives who are going to put themselves out there publicly," he said, "to take open-style questions, and defend their beliefs, and defend their principles."

Fitzpatrick and Strouse are to meet at noon Wednesday in the first of three debates, to be broadcast on WNPV-AM (1440).

But the complaint that Fitzpatrick avoids public events where he might face criticism from constituents has trailed the Republican since he returned to Congress in 2011. While he vowed to be accessible, local Democrats say Fitzpatrick tends to schedule appearances without advance public notice or in limited forums devoid of dialogue.

Fitzpatrick counters that he has met regularly with constituents since his days as a Bucks County commissioner, while Strouse has lived in the district only since early last year.

"I've probably had more public meetings and answered more questions and had more videotaped editorial board meetings than anybody," Fitzpatrick said in an interview.

He is favored against Strouse, a first-time candidate.

 Underdogs have long complained of rivals ducking debates and joint appearances. That's how Senate candidate Abraham Lincoln of Illinois got a series of debates with Stephen Douglas in 1858, said George Washington University political scientist Lara Brown.

In modern campaigns, though, favorites can spread their messages without traditional news coverage, relying on e-mail lists, social media, and Web videos. Public appearances are risky: Gaffes turn into embarrassing viral videos.

"People want to limit their exposure," said Bonita Hoke, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. "If they make a mistake . . . it never goes away."

Incumbents also don't want to share the stage with lesser-known opponents.

"The best way to win is to really not have a challenger get much traction," Brown said.

In races from Mississippi to Minnesota this year, the Washington Post has reported, front-runners have refused to attend events with challengers. Locally, both parties have raised this criticism.

Republican Garry Cobb, a former Eagles linebacker running for Congress in South Jersey, has posted videos of his confronting State Sen. Donald Norcross (D., Camden) and challenging him to debate.

"See him running away?" Cobb taunts as Norcross walks away to work a crowd. Norcross retorts to Cobb's videographer: "Gee, I want to debate - he doesn't get it."

In a neighboring district, Republican Tom MacArthur has accused Democrat Aimee Belgard of hiding from the media. In a Pennsylvania congressional contest, Democrat Manan Trivedi has made the same charge against Chester County Commissioner Ryan Costello. And U.S. Sen. Cory A. Booker (D., N.J.) has agreed to just one debate with his little-known Republican opponent, Jeff Bell.

In Bucks, Strouse, 35, has pounded the issue, pointing to Fitzpatrick's past promises. The criticism came to a head with last week's forum in Trevose.

Strouse's campaign even accused Fitzpatrick of lying to avoid the event. After Fitzpatrick's campaign manager told the Bucks County Courier Times that Fitzpatrick did not have enough notice to book it, Strouse's team released e-mails showing organizers had tried to schedule it a month in advance.

Frederick James, president of the Lin-Park Civic Association, which organized the event, said members were "extremely disappointed, and some of them hurt," by the congressman's absence.

In 2010, a year marked by tea party activists confronting lawmakers, Fitzpatrick was the aggressor. He challenged Democratic incumbent Patrick Murphy at one event, rallying the crowd behind him. A YouTube video of the clash drew hearty cheers from Republicans.

Fitzpatrick went on to win, and the Bucks native now boasts of visiting 100 district businesses each summer. He provided a list of town-hall meetings - 12 in his first term and eight in his second, which began in January 2013. The most recent was August 2013, more than a year ago.

Since early 2013, his office said, he has also held 23 tele-town halls - in which robocalls go out to residents and ask if they would like to stay on the line to listen and ask the congressman questions.

He said 85 percent of households in the district have been called more than once. He has also attended candidate forums and community meetings.

Some events are publicized mainly by the group hosting them, and on short notice. The scheduling of a forum with Strouse at a Bensalem synagogue was firmed up on a Friday evening, leaving little chance to advertise the Sunday morning session.

Fitzpatrick's business visits aren't widely advertised, either - at least not in advance. Afterward, his office blasts out news releases with flattering quotes from participants.

He said residents tell him they love the convenience of the telephone events.

"We're always testing more and better and more efficient ways to engage with the public," he said. "Sometimes the use of new technology or meeting with constituents in their workplaces can be both more productive and more efficient."

That doesn't satisfy Democrat Theresa BrownGold. The Doylestown artist has tried to monitor Fitzpatrick's town hall meeting schedule and blogged about it.

She's attended at least three Fitzpatrick events since 2011, she said, but finds it harder in recent years to get answers about his schedule. (He said he always calls on her to ask a question at events, including as recently as last year.)

His staff has offered to meet with her privately, BrownGold said, but she prefers asking questions of representatives publicly.

"If he's not going to talk to us, everything is going to be packaged," she said. "That's a problem."

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