The ABC7/USC gubernatorial debate was set for Tuesday evening on USC’s campus. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
USC PRESIDENT BEONG-SOO KIM said he made the eleventh-hour decision to cancel the school’s gubernatorial debate after ABC7, which was set to co-host the event, refused to expand the number of candidates who would appear on stage.
A chorus of state Democrats had blasted the university since last week, decrying the fact that no candidates of color had qualified for the event.
“It was going to be difficult for the debate to achieve its originally intended purpose,” Kim said in an interview with L.A. Material Tuesday. “I was concerned that the debate was going to become a debate about the debate, instead of a debate about the issues.”
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