Bill Lee and Karl Dean are seen in this combination photo.MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – A 300-person bipartisan audience of politically savvy Middle Tennessee businessmen, corporate sponsors and others were left frustrated Thursday when Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill Lee unexpectedly canceled a scheduled appearance also featuring Democratic nominee Karl Dean.
Staffers for Lee, who was campaigning in East Tennessee Thursday, later apologized. Campaign spokeswoman Laine Arnold blamed the situation on “an unfortunate miscommunication, and we regret not being there for the event. We apologize to the organizers and attendees for any error.”
As the lone candidate in attendance, Dean, a former Nashville mayor, had the group mostly to himself as he pitched his proposals including expanding the state’s Medicaid coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act, bolstering education funding and other matters. He later fielded several audience questions.
Republican state Rep. Ron Travis of Dayton, among a number of Tennessee legislators in attendance, did a last-minute substitution for Lee. He praised the Franklin businessman and first-time political candidate while also reading from what Travis called a list of Lee campaign-supplied “talking points.”
The Thursday luncheon event was not a debate – Lee had previously declined to participate in a proposed forum the same day at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro. The Republican also declined an invitation from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce to participate in a forum.