HOUSTON -- Four lesser-known Democratic candidates for Texas governor are suing a public television station after they were excluded from a televised debate.
Dr. Alma Ludivina Aguado, M.D., P.A., L.L.C., Star Locke, Felix Alvarado, and Clement Glen filed their case in federal court in Travis County. They are seeking $400 million against KERA-TV, a Dallas-based PBS station.
As a public TV station, KERA has an obligation to use its airways fairly, but “even governments have rules, time, place and manner rules about who uses the forum,” 11 News Legal Expert Gerald Treece said. He said he expects the case will be dismissed.
KERA released a statement on the matter saying:
“We are disappointed that these candidates have chosen to ignore years of judicial precedents upholding our right to use viewpoint neutral criteria in selecting candidates to participate in the Texas Debates. We are confident in our debate policy, and we will seek the speedy dismissal of this complaint as we have successfully with others in the past.”
KERA noted the criteria for appearing on a televised debate was all listed ahead of time on its Web site. A candidate must be actively campaigning, which means having a campaign headquarters and a staff -- whether paid or volunteer. The candidate must also register at least 6 percentage points in an established nonpartisan poll.
At Romano’s, a local pizzeria, Ray Silva and Donna Cooper both said they thought having all candidates in a debate was too much.
"[It would be] just a waste of time for me,” said Silva, a cab driver.
Cooper agreed.
“You lose interest because everybody [is] talking over each other,” she said. “You’re not really getting nothing done. Nobody’s really getting their point across.”
Cooper raised her eyebrows and laughed about the amount of money involved in the lawsuit.
“That's ridiculous,” she said.
