Charges of “dirty politics” cast a shadow over a forum for the two Democratic candidates seeking the 92nd District Assembly seat.

The forum at Tomah High School Wednesday was held without Mark Radcliffe of Black River Falls. Radcliffe’s father, Loren Radcliffe, made an opening statement on his son’s behalf and then left the auditorium, although he was invited to remain and answer questions along with the other candidate, Curtis Miller of Sparta.

“Nobody ever bothered to make a single phone call to ask (Mark) if he was available for the forum,” Loren Radcliffe said. “Mark gave the dates when he was available, but that was ignored.”

He accused Miller, state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma), the forum’s moderator, and Monroe County Democratic Party chair Steven Williams of “dirty politics” and said “that’s the kind of b.s. that drives Mark in this election.”

Loren Radcliffe said Mark Radcliffe’s son, Vance, has a learning disability that required Mark Radcliffe to be present with his son during the first week of school. A forum that was scheduled for tonight (Thursday) in Black River Falls was cancelled.

“Mark is at home with his son doing exactly what I raised him to do — put his family first,” Loren Radcliffe said.

Vinehout disputed the charge that Radcliffe wasn’t contacted. She said both Miller and Radcliffe were sent letters Aug. 18 informing them of the times and dates of the Tomah and Black River Falls events. Miller said he also received a telephone call before the letter was sent, but none of the organizers could confirm whether Radcliffe received a similar call.

Democratic party chairs from all four counties in the 92nd District attended the forum. Clark County Democratic Chair Melanie Franklin said there was no attempt to maneuver Radcliffe into a no-show.

“You try to find a date before the primary that gives us a chance to notify as many people as possible,” Franklin said. “Sometimes people can’t make it. There was no intent at all for a dirty trick.”

In a separate interview today (Thursday), Radcliffe confirmed receipt of the letter that had already set the Sept. 3 and Sept. 4 dates. Radcliffe said he e-mailed Vinehout, Franklin and Williams offering to appear Aug. 27, Aug. 28 or Aug. 31 but was rejected.

“I found out about it after it was scheduled,” Radcliffe said.” On the first week of school, I needed to be home with my son.”

With Radcliffe absent, Miller had the floor to himself. He addressed several issues, including:

*Health care. Miller said the health care crisis won’t be solved until politicians commit themselves to “putting people first.” Miller, who first ran for Assembly in 2006, said he was first motivated to run by a custodian who needed heart surgery.

“He had a choice — either getting the treatment for his heart or, because he had no health insurance, saving his home for his family,” Miller said. “I believe it is fundamentally wrong to put people in that kind of situation.”

*School funding. Miller said the existing funding system creates “winners and losers” based on enrollment growth or decline. He said a formula must be revised to account for fixed costs.

*Taxes. Miller criticized tax policies that shift more of the property tax burden from businesses to residential homeowners. He also took issue with a tax system that allows corporations to avoid state taxes by establishing a complex web of subsidiaries and holding companies. He favors a system called “combined reporting.”

“Combined reporting simply says that corporations must keep honest books,” Miller said.

*Prisons. Miller said prisons are too often used “as hospitals for the mentally ill. That’s a foolish way to treat a population that can be treated in a medical way rather than a punitive way.”

Miller also pounced on a question from the audience about a donation Radcliffe made to the campaign of former Republican state Sen. David Zien who developed a reputation for sharp, partisan attacks against Democrats.

Radcliffe donated $250 to the Zien campaign one month before the 2006 election when Zien was running for re-election against Democratic challenger Pat Krietlow. Zien lost the election by a narrow margin.

“It’s a matter of public record that Radcliffe did contribute $250 to Mr. Zien,” Miller said.

Radcliffe acknowledged the donation but said it has no bearing on the problems faced by voters.

“I met (Zien), he asked for a campaign contribution, he seemed like a pretty nice guy, so I gave him a donation,” Radcliffe said. “It’s pretty sad that something like that makes news. If Curtis Miller wants to sit down and make that an issue, it means he doesn’t have much to talk about.”

A database maintained by the Wisconsin Democracy Project shows no other political contributions made by Radcliffe.

The primary election is Sept. 9. The winner moves to the Nov. 4 general election against Dan Hellman, who is unopposed in the Republican primary.