Dearborn Mayoral Candidate a Forum No-Show
Dearborn mayoral candidate Michael J. Prus was a no-show Tuesday evening at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Dearborn/Dearborn Heights.
Dearborn Mayor John B. O’Reilly Jr., was on hand to face his challenger in the City Council Chambers but without Mr. Prus the LWV decided to cancel the forum rather than hold a question and answer session with just Mayor O’Reilly.
It isn’t entirely clear why Mr. Prus — who ran unsuccessfully for Dearborn mayor in the 2007 special election (he had 63 votes to O’Reilly’s 16,060 in that election) — was unable to attend Tuesday’s forum.
Mr. Prus earlier sent a letter to Mayor O’Reilly inviting him to take part in a series of debates. Let’s hope the two can find another evening to discuss the many challenges our city faces.
Separately, the forum for the 14 city council candidates did take place in the City Council Chambers as scheduled.
September 30th, 2009 at 9:25 am
Maybe this has something to do with an earlier story below ” A Chicken in Every Derarborn Garage”
September 30th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
Thanks, Mr. Prus – that makes one decision for November’s ballot that much more simple!
September 30th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Big O’Reilly bought him off.
October 1st, 2009 at 8:33 am
Very disappointing, Mr. Pruss. I have never been a huge O’Reilly fan, but if he had pulled this stunt, he never would have heard the end of it. The ladies at the LVW work very hard to put together these events and I am certain this was extremely disappointing for them, too; what a waste of their resources! Next time, if you’re not serious, please consider leaving your name off the ballot, or at least honor your commitments.
October 1st, 2009 at 11:58 am
As the council candidate forum went out without a problem, what, if anything, did the council candidates say?
October 2nd, 2009 at 9:52 am
Dumb, what could be so important to blow off a mayoral debate. To be a good Mayor you have to keep your appointments. My choice is clear here.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:20 pm
I’ll still vote for you, even though you didn’t show up, mainly because the Big O is such a complete idiot. Were you simply afraid, to debate him? If you were afraid, crawl back into your hole, because Dearborn doesn’t need you.
October 2nd, 2009 at 4:03 pm
According to what I am reading in the Press and Guide, Mr. Prus showed up at the Sept 23rd forum which was hosted by League of Women Voters and held at Henry Ford Village. How many of these events do they host?
October 3rd, 2009 at 4:29 am
Dear Dearborn Citizens and Voters:
I am not certain whether it was announced at the forum or not, but I went to the doctor and was told that I had a severe case of bronchitis. My concern was whether do I attend and cough every couple of minutes into the microphone and the audience making people ill or stay home.
In the best interest and safety for everyone, I decided to stay home. I was truly disappointed about missing the forum, however, the welfare and the safety of the wonderful citizens of Dearborn comes first with me.
Hopefully, a forum between the mayor and I may take place before the elections.
Sincerely,
Michael J. “Mike” Prus
Candidate for Dearborn Mayor
October 4th, 2009 at 5:54 am
Too bad this reason wasn’t given in the original posting. “Mike” are you saying that the mayor doesn’t want to have a forum with you now?
October 4th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Donna: we tried to contact Mr. Prus on the night he missed the debate to learn why he couldn’t attend but he did not have a listed telephone number, according to 411.com. Just for your information, Mayor O’Reilly’s home phone number is listed.
October 4th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Why did it take so long for you to come up with this excuse. You could have told the league in time but evidentally you chose not to. You aren’t mayoral material, nice excuse however, how long did it take to think of it? You shouldn’t be running, if you are so shallow that you are afraid to face Big Jack. He as well as a lot of his administration are laughing heartily at you.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:10 am
Then why didn’t you call Mayor O’Reilly to ask why Prus didn’t show?
October 4th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Thanks for the update.
October 4th, 2009 at 11:19 am
less then a month to go! I cant wait to see the out come!
October 4th, 2009 at 11:32 am
@ Just The Facts..
Great Point…
how could it be that hard to find out Prus number? since im sure someone at the League of Women Voters would have it. Lots of Top Dogs there..
October 4th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Hmmm. Flimsy excuses. Yes, I do think he has what it takes to be a first-rate politician.
October 4th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Dear Rick:
I look forward to forums, debates, and challenges with the mayor. Anyways, why would I commit political suicide to do a “No-show?” I appeared and participated at the previous forum.
Did you ever have a severe case of bronchitis?
I began with chills and coughing from Monday (9-28) well into the next day
(9-29) with a slight fever. I scheduled a doctor’s appointment hoping that I would be diagnosed with a sore throat and the doctor could prescribed some medicine to stop the coughing and reduce the fever. The appointment was at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. I was still going to the forum at this point.
The diagnosis was severe bronchitis. Doctor’s orders were medicine and rest–do not leave the house. This was not planned and I don’t see how anyone could. Want to verify what I explained to you? I took over three days of Sick Leave from my employer, the State of Michigan, because of this. Well, Rick, if your information is correct that Big Jack as well as a lot of his administration are laughing heartily at me because I was terribly ill, then it makes me wonder what do they do when a person is dying? Or even worse, it makes me wonder if this is the kind of mayor that I would want in office? No way!
Sincerely,
Michael J.”Mike” Prus
Candidate for Dearborn Mayor
October 4th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Mr. Prus’s phone number is listed on the cityifdearborn.org page. list of candidates for the november 3, 2009 general election. That infor must be supplied to election officials when petitioning. The Mayor list his office number.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:32 am
You have my vote. To many voters in Dearborn continue to re-elect the same people over and over again which leaves us in the same place. We need NEW blood, new ideas, new energy so we can move this City forward. Others have tried and failed. Look around at all the empty buildings while neighboring Allen Park is GROWING. Current administration (minus Doug Thomas) have done more to divide the City than united the City. Paid parking in West Dearborn but FREE in East Dearborn.
October 5th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Thanks for clearing up the issue, Mr. Pruss. I apologize for jumping to the wrong conclusion. Deep, Milwood is correct, that number has been posted on the website for a while. In fairness to Mr. Pruss, as you started this, you owe him separate posting to correct this.
October 5th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Milwood: Thank you. We weren’t aware of the list on the city’s website. We plan to call him and will post a new entry soon about why he had to decline.
October 5th, 2009 at 11:02 am
“Thanks for clearing up the issue, Mr. Pruss.”
Why didn’t he just call the LWV and say he couldn’t make it? That’s usually what I do when I can’t make an appointment.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Obviously no one on this post attended the candidate’s forum, because the LWV announced that Mr. Pruss would not be able to make it because he had bronchitis. They also stated they have strict rules about only proceeding if both candidates are present.
This happens too often in this city, everyone assumes the facts and jumps to a conclusion. I’m disappointed Said that you would make such a mistake, since you are a journalist by trade. Where did you get your information in the first place? Through the mayor’s grapevine? This was definitely a low blow.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I was wondering the same thing but perhaps he did. Guess we will just have to wait for another post from him and hopefully it will clear all of this up.
October 5th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
All anyone had to do was put Michael J Pruss name in search engine and his name, phone, and adddress will come up. Simple as that!
October 5th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
I was at the LWV forum and I was informed that Mr. Prus would not be there due to an illness. We where all told this so we would be ready to start the city council part of the event early. Just wanted to write this to be fair about the situation. have a good day everyone!
October 5th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Bob, please see Mr. Pruss’ first post. I believe he indicated that LWV was informed of his illness, but he didn’t know if anyone had announced it at the event.