OGDEN, Utah — With just over a month away from election day for Ogden city mayor, candidates Taylor Knuth and Ben Nadolski have been participating in debates and forums to share their platform.
However, Nadolski has withdrawn from the next debate scheduled for Wednesday and hosted by the Better Utah Institute at Weber State University. He said he made his decision after the John R. Park Debate Society at the University of Utah withdrew from co-hosting the event.
“When we agreed to participate in this debate, we did so because we knew there would be a neutral third party that would moderate the event, and that would help ensure fairness, transparency and political independence," said Nadolski. "Unfortunately, that party withdrew from participation, citing concerns related to fairness and transparency."
Knuth said he does not have the same concerns as Nadolski and plans to still be at the event.
“We received access to the same amount of information and really at the end of the day, this debate is about the voters, and really being fair and transparent with our voters, and that means showing up to this debate, which is exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
The John R. Park Debate Society has been working with the Better Utah Institute hosting debates together since 2014.
“We believe these events are of great benefit to the public and are a model for civic discourse. We agreed to renew our partnership following a hiatus for the pandemic based on expectations established by the history of those past events," the group said in a statement. "As planning proceeded, differing visions for these events emerged and we chose to withdraw from co-hosting debates this election cycle. We have every confidence that the new vision for these events developed by Better Utah will be successful. At the same time, we are committed to the strong precedent our organization has established and look forward to continuing that tradition in the future.”
FOX 13 News reached out to Better Utah Institute for their thoughts on Nadolski's withdrawal and they said they intend to move forward with the debate and hope both candidates participate.
Both candidates agree that debates are an integral part of the electoral process.
“Some voters will get exactly what they need online and some voters will like, what we know about tomorrow, some voters will want to clear their schedule, they’ll want to get a babysitter, they’ll want to cancel plans with friends and family, which is what we know many people have done already in preparation for tomorrow, so tomorrow, I’ll be showing up for them,” said Knuth.
“It means everything," added Nadolksi. "It means having a platform that’s fair, both for me and for my opponent. It’s a platform that’s fair for the community to judge both of us on our own merits,”
Nadolski and Knuth plan to debate at other scheduled events with the next debate scheduled Thursday evening.
