2 More Chances - Will My Opponent Refuse All 21 Offers To Debate?

I have committed to 19 debate dates so far in 2024 and still offer 2 more before voting begins. I am a Republican and your Chatham Township Committeeman Mark Lois. I care about Chatham Township, the issues we face and clear communication with all residents.

My opponent has now been offered 19 dates across June, July, August and September. Even with months and weeks of advance notice, my opponent has refused each and every one of the 19 dates. I am running for re-election to represent residents of Chatham Township in a second term on the Township Committee. There is usually at least one debate. I am now offering him 2 more opportunities before vote by mail voting begins.

Leadership is about finding solutions and not continuously presenting problems and circumstances. I am focused on problem solving with these added opportunities to debate. I leave it to my opponent to select one, many or all of these remaining opportunities. In my view the public deserves a debate before voting begins, not after. My opponent has avoided a debate for over four months and now vote-by-mail ballots are set to come out September 21st. A public discussion must occur before voting begins.

21 total opportunities should be enough for my opponent to find a debate date that occurs before voting begins.

How did we get to potentially 21 refusals by my opponent?
My previous 15 unconditional commitments were made in the timing and terms of the invitations received and sent. Despite these 15 dates ranging over 4 months, my opponent could not set aside a single hour, even by Zoom, for a debate. I am hopeful that 6 more chances will remedy his reluctance.

What has prevented a debate so far ?
My opponent refuses to meet any commitment I have made. I even committed to 6 dates in a forum run by a truly biased organization just to have a chance at a discussion. This organization is lead by my immediate past political opponent. The very person whom I defeated for this same elected position on Township Committee in 2021 now leads the Morris County Chapter of the League of Women Voters. This past opponent spent almost $28,000 in her campaign against me (far more than double what I spent) and even pursued a lawsuit against the Board of Elections and the Morris County clerk to overturn the results of my victory in 2021. Unwilling to accept the election results in a tirade lasting nearly until Thanksgiving of 2021, she only withdrew her request that taxpayers pay for her baseless objections when the Attorney General’s Office (an appointed Democrat) separately filed with the court in support of my position. https://patch.com/new-jersey/c...

Compounding the bias and conflict in leadership, Barbara Kuppersmith is the debate organizer for the Morris County Chapter and a staunch ally of Democrats in the Chathams. Kuppersmith was a member of the Chatham Democrat's group – Chatham Moms for Change. Although not a resident of the Chathams, Kuppersmith has public photographs displaying her membership pin in this Chatham Mom’s group and is proudly surrounded by locally elected Democrats. The photo shows this debate organizer arm in arm with Chatham’s Mayors, operatives and donors. If a visit to the Morris County Chapters website does not convince you that the Morris County Chapter are activists for Democrats, then I have also given a full explanation of why local Republicans did not participate in 2022 HERE.

Fully informed of these unreasonable conditions and clearly biased personalities, I committed to debate on the very dates proposed in the invitation without condition. My opponent refused those dates.

What is the format of these upcoming 10 opportunities?
In summary I am offering an extremely fair and balanced series with equal time to speak answering the same questions. My opponent is able choose any moderator he likes (including his friends and supporters at the Morris County Chapter of the League of Women Voters ) . My opponent may also supply half the question bank. See the complete invitation, rules and policies:

http://www.chathamnjgop.com/CandidateForum_ChathamTownship-2024.pdf

More Chances For a Debate - Mark Lois Has Now Committed to 21 In All Prior To the Start of Voting
(In 2022 Mark Lois Explains why Chatham Township Republicans did not participate in that year's Morris County Chapter of League of Women Voters due to extraordinary conflicts with the organizers supporting Chatham's Democrats. Despite the continued and unresolved bias of this group Mark Lois accepted the invitation of the Morris County chapter to participate in a debate unconditionally and for any of 6 dates this year. His opponent refused all of those dates (and 5 previous dates) and would not commit to even a single hour of discussion on those 11 total dates, even by Zoom.)

I have even committed to 6 dates even in a forum so biased that the inviting organization is run by my immediate past political opponent who lost to me in 2021 for Township Committee. The debate itself would have been organized by a committed Democrat allied with Chatham Democrats:

Publicly Posted Photo From Social Media - Kuppersmith lower right with Chatham Moms for Change Pin. Row behind and standing, Democrat Mayors of both Chatham Borough and Chatham Township.

Barbara Kuppersmith, is the debate organizer for the Morris County Chapter of the League and a staunch ally of Democrats in the Chathams. Kuppersmith was a member of the Chatham Democrat's group – Chatham Moms for Change. Despite not being even a resident of the Chathams, she has this public photograph displaying her membership pin in this Chatham Mom’s group as she is surrounded by locally elected Democrats. The photo shows this debate organizer arm in arm with Chatham’s Mayors, operatives and donors. Despite this affiliation and clear conflict, Mark Lois agreed to debate his opponent on six dates in a forum run by this group and was refused.

Mark Lois is the last elected Republican in the Chathams and is running for re-election. To vote against him would leave the Chathams without any other voice and total imbalance.

There are 12 elected positions in the Chathams. Currently 11 seats are held by Democrats and this election could result in 12-0. Mark Lois is the last elected Republican. A victory by Democrats would abandon the system of checks and balances that proper functioning, transparent government demands and leave a 12 to zero monolith in the Chathams.