Andy Shallal. Getty Images.

The final televised debate before the April 1st mayoral primary will take place tonight, courtesy of WUSA9, and will feature four of the eight candidates: Mayor Vince Gray and Councilmembers Muriel Bowser, Jack Evans and Tommy Wells. This is not sitting too well with restauranteur Andy Shallal.

“This is unfair and it is an insult to D.C. voters who are being treated as though they need the hand of a corporate media operation to steer them to poll-approved candidates,” Shallal said in a statement. “This might be good for WUSA’s ratings, but it does not serve the public interest.”

WUSA9’s selection of the four candidates comes from recent polls that show who’s at the top of the pack. While Shallal was tied with Evans in the Post’s most recent poll, as his campaign noted on Twitter, he was fifth in both the City Paper/Kojo poll and the NBC4/Marist poll.

NewsChannel8’s recent televised debate also only included Gray, Bowser, Evans and Wells.

In his statement, Shallal says he is “up against an insidious political caste system, driven by polls and reinforced by exclusionary media coverage. The ‘top tier’ format of debates and news stories clearly signals to voters who’s worthy and who’s not, according to the standards of corporate journalism. This growing practice constricts the democratic space for progressive voices, like mine, to be heard.”

Exclusionary forums might appear to be “rational,” or “unbiased,” but it is neither. In fact, exclusionary forums and news coverage inherently perpetuate the status quo and that’s bad for democracy. Democracy in D.C. is already taking a beating. Shame on WUSA.

Shallal’s campaign is urging supporters to call WUSA9.

Filed Under: dcision14, mayoral candidate, mayoral debates, wusa9,