Gilchrist will boycott forum

Candidate in House race objects to role of `far-left' League of Women Voters in the event tonight.Congressional candidate Jim Gilchrist, a member of the American Independent Party, on Monday said he will boycott a candidates' forum tonight because the League of Women Voters is a cosponsor of the event. Gilchrist is one of five candidates who will vie for the 48th District House seat in a Dec. 6 general election.

In a statement, Gilchrist criticized the League of Women Voters for its "far-left agenda" and said the group was not an appropriate sponsor for the forum.

"The League of Women Voters supports taxpayer-funded abortion up to the day of delivery, new and expanded gun-control laws, higher taxes on working people, socialized medicine and unrestricted illegal immigration," Gilchrist said in the statement.

He asked that the league be removed from involvement with the forum, and he asked Republican candidate John Campbell and Libertarian candidate Bruce Cohen to join his boycott.

"I can understand his sentiments, but I'm not going to skip the forum because they're going to be there," Cohen said, adding, "everything he says is basically true -- they are really left-wing."

Campbell was at a fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Monday and could not immediately be reached for comment.

Forum organizer UC Irvine responded with a statement saying the league's participation is nonpartisan, and that its involvement was fully disclosed when the event was announced.

"While we regret any withdrawals from the forum, participation in the 48th Congressional District candidate forum is strictly voluntary," the statement said.

Tonight's event was to be the first since the Oct. 4 primary election with all the candidates present. Campbell didn't attend a Monday forum in Irvine because he was out of town. The forum will be at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers at Irvine City Hall, 1 Civic Center Plaza.