When the Mask Slips: Why I Said No to a Closed-Door Interview

The whole thing was just plain weird — an invitation one day, and less than 24 hours later a rush to mark me as ‘declined.’

On Thursday afternoon, I got a message from the Cherokee Republican Party’s Municipal Elections Task Force inviting me to an interview.

Less than 24 hours later, before I had even responded in full, I got a follow-up: “Hello, would you like to mark you as declined?”

Think about that. The ink wasn’t even dry on the invitation, and already they were rushing to brand me as “unwilling.”

I did respond. I said yes — with conditions that any reasonable voter would expect:

• The conversation must be recorded and shared in full.

• The focus must remain on Woodstock’s municipal issues.

• Ideally, the interview should be a public event so all voters can hear for themselves.

Their reply? “That is not the format for this particular event.” In other words: no recording, no public accountability, no transparency.

That tells you what this was really about. It wasn’t about hearing from candidates. It wasn’t even about pretending to act in good faith. It was about gathering intel they could weaponize, and rushing to stamp “DECLINED” on my name the moment I insisted on transparency.

This is what I mean when I say the mask is off. Normal, functioning members of a community don’t demand loyalty oaths, hide conversations from voters, or pre-mark candidates as “declined” before they’ve even answered.

This is a non-partisan race, and I’m running to serve the people of Woodstock — all of them. If groups want to host forums that are fair, transparent, and accessible, I’ll be there. Every time.

Because if the first move is to mark candidates as “declined,” the last thing they want is democracy. And Woodstock deserves better.