Why will Congressman John Duncan Jr. be absent from tonight’s forum?

Issues Committee member Jamie Pizzirusso said the committee had been

planning a debate between Duncan and Smith since last spring [the Issues

Committee was not yet aware of Dimit’s candidacy].

Invitations to both candidates were mailed during the summer. Smith

accepted the committee’s invitation immediately, Pizzirusso said.

Duncan responded in a letter in September that he could not attend and

would not participate in a debate. Pizzirusso and Judson Perry said the

Issues Committee was very interested in having Duncan speak to students, so

they tried to work with Duncan to alter the format or to change the event

to another date.

“We bent over backwards to accommodate Congressman Duncan’s schedule,”

Pizzirusso said. “We offered to bring him on a separate night. We told him

he wouldn’t have to debate,” Pizzirusso said. “He just flat-out

refused.”

Perry added, “He was invited. He just told us ‘no.'”

Darrell Akins, campaign treasurer for Duncan, said Duncan is not

participating in any events with Smith.

“We’ve made our position clear on that from the beginning,” Akins said. “We

have absolutely no interest in bringing more attention to Mr. Smith than he

can generate on his own. As a campaign, we have strongly advised

Congressman Duncan not to be used by Stephen Smith.”

Akins added that Smith has been arrested in the past and participated in

other activities which would make it “beneath the dignity of a Congressman

of the United States” to be drawn into an argument with Smith.

“What you’ve got here [at UT] are a bunch of people that are using the

university to promote their Democratic political agenda,” Akins said. “What

they’re doing is hiding under the banner of university committees and

university functions.”

Akins added that he was not referring specifically to the Issues Committee,

but to individuals within the university itself.

Not only did Issues Committee members want Duncan to attend, but so, too,

did Dimit and Smith.

“I regret Congressman Duncan could not come,” Dimit said. “I think he owes

it to students at UT.”

Dimit said he had received his invitation to the forum about six weeks

ago.

Smith said he knew Duncan had declined to participate in a debate with him

and had also declined to participate in even a discussion of the

issues.

“It’s a bad indication when the Congressman will not come,” Smith said.

“It’s a bad indication of his commitment to young people when he refuses to

come and stand before them.”

Akins said Duncan has been on the UT campus many times, spoken to many

classes and meetings and continues to be available to students. He said

that a joint appearance with Smith was not necessary for people to know

Duncan’s positions and that Duncan’s record in Congress speaks for itself

about Duncan’s qualifications for the job.

“Anybody that would make a statement [that Duncan doesn’t care about

students] is completely uninformed about what Congressman Duncan has done

for and with students, for and with faculty, for and with staff, and for

and with the administration of the University of Tennessee,” Akins

said.