Tanya Vea, News Director
KUTV/CBS2News
299 South Main Street
Suite 150
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
(801) 415-2222
Dear Ms. Vea:
I understand that KUTV/CBS2News will host a debate between the incumbent party candidates for Salt Lake County District Attorney this Sunday, October 8, 2006 at 11:00 A.M. on its public affairs program "Take Two," moderated by reporter Rod Decker.
Mr. Decker has a history of excluding Libertarian candidates from his political coverage. In 1998, Mr. Decker told our candidate for Salt Lake County Commissioner, Cabot Nelson, that KUTV doesn't "include third parties." In 2004, when he asked a group of gubernatorial candidates who was available to be interviewed and was approached by Libertarian candidate Richard Mack, Mr. Decker replied "not you."
After the incident with Mr. Mack, I contacted your predecessor, Steve Charlier, about Mr. Decker's exclusion of Libertarian candidates from his political coverage. Mr. Charlier told me he asked Mr. Decker about this and that Mr. Decker denied excluding Libertarians from his political coverage. But Mr. Charlier invited me to notify him if I became aware of any future exclusion by Mr. Decker, and I am doing so to Mr. Charlier's successor -- you -- now.
I claim no right to nor do I seek to force myself into any broadcasted political debate.
And I think KUTV/CBS2News has every right to present its viewers with a false choice for political contests. But, like Fox News, its lack of journalistic fairness and integrity speaks for itself.
So far during this election season, I've participated in two debates with Ms. Miller and Mr. Gill, and I believe my presence in those debates has helped voters clarify the differences among the candidates. And Mr. Decker is scheduled to moderate our debate before the Salt Lake County Bar Association on October 25th.
Libertarians didn't design the two-party electoral system that makes it so difficult for our candidates to win elected office. But we are working to raise awareness of important ideas, such as the more inclusive, representative, and competitive multi-party systems used in most of the world's democracies.
I look forward to hearing from you if KUTV/CBS2News changes its mind about my exclusion from this weekend's program, or wants to inform its viewers in some future news broadcast about the issues that motivated me to enter the District Attorney's race -- such as jail overcrowding because of the prosecution of victimless crimes, eminent domain abuse, and jury rights.
In liberty,
Rob Latham
Libertarian candidate for Salt Lake County District Attorney
