Anyone tuning in a few minutes late to see the Morton County candidate forum on Community Access TV probably missed it, much to the chagrin of the League of Women Voters.

With only one of the four candidates showing up for what had been planned to be a live hourlong televised debate on Oct. 5, it turned into a five-minute monologue by challenger Andy Zachmeier.

Missing in action were Bernie Stein and incumbents Jim Boehm and Robert "Bob" Christensen. CATV continues to replay the forum, but viewers need to tune in on time.

The League of Women Voters is hosting 11 candidate forums and, with the exception of the Morton candidates, has had 100 percent attendance, according to the league's Kathy Osteen, who has set up the forums.

Osteen said every candidate was sent a letter in July about the forum, which was followed up with a phone call about a month later.

"About four to six days before the forum, everybody is called again. If I didn't get them in person … I made sure I got them in person," Osteen said. "This procedure got done with Morton. Then the night of the forum is here, Andy's here, but nobody else. We went to the phones and started calling, but we had no success."

Neither Stein or Boehm left any messages that they were unable to attend, according to Osteen. She did find a message on her answering machine at home from Christensen after returning from the forum, but she's not sure when it was left.

"I didn't go home from work and went to the forum, otherwise I might have seen it. He (Christensen) told me he left it the day before. He had to go out of town because of work and left a message on my phone, which I didn't get," Osteen said. "The league is of the opinion that he should have known about this further in advance, and even a call the day before doesn't count."

Boehm, Stein and Christensen said they didn't get a call from the league the week previous to the forum.

"It wasn't written down in my schedule, and I got busy and forgot about it," Boehm said. "It would have been a good opportunity to visit with the people and let them know where my views are. But those are no secret, and I've been around long enough that people know what I'm going to do. I sure would have liked the opportunity, but it didn't work for me. I didn't get a call the week before. Early on I got the letter and shortly after a call."

Stein said he also got the letter and a call early in the process. On the day of the forum, he took his mother to the hospital for a knee replacement operation, having forgotten about the forum.

"They called me about two months ago to be there, and I said to let me know a couple of days before. They called me the day of when I was with my mother. Had I known, I would have been there," Stein said. "The day I came back from the hospital, there was a message on the answering machine, but that was after I got back. I don't have an excuse, and I don't know what went wrong."

Christensen said the reason he didn't show up was that he had to drive the Bismarck football team to Jamestown as part of his job in the school district's transportation department.

"I never got a follow-up call. I got a call that night of the forum from the league. They were trying to reach me at 7 p.m., but I was out of town," Christensen said. "The only call was way back in July. I told them that it was difficult to schedule the forum that far out because my schedule changes."

The candidate that did show up, Andy Zachmeier, said he was embarrassed and disappointed by the situation.

"I had a plan going into it that the four of us would be able to shake hands and visit. It would be very friendly, and we'd be able to exchange views. I really thought the debate would be quite enjoyable," Zachmeier said. "When I found myself there alone, everything I had planned was gone. It made the situation difficult. I could not understand how someone running for public office could agree to participate in a public forum they were invited to in July. They had plenty of time to cancel, but to just not come or provide a courtesy call … The league put a lot of work into this, and it was very disrespectful."

CATV director Mary Van Sickle said it is not the first time Morton candidates have disappointed.

"Morton has done this before. We had a previous experience a couple of years ago," Van Sickle said. "All the other forums have gone very nicely. Candidates understand how important it is. The great opportunity it allows for their platform and exposure."

Van Sickle gave Zachmeier credit for showing up early for the forum. He was there early, checking out the venue and making sure he was prepared.

"When he was the only one there, it was surprising,"Van Sickle said. "I think Andy really showed some grace and handled it very well, being put under that pressure.

Barring a personal medical emergency, Van Sickle doesn't understand how the candidates wouldn't at least call ahead to say they were unable to attend. At the time of the broadcast, it was decided to give Zachmeier five minutes to make a statement.

"In hindsight, I think we should have probably allowed him more time,"Van Sickle said. "The league has done such a good job of organizing all the candidates for the 11 forums. It really is frustrating."

The league isn't sure whether it will be inviting Morton candidates back, according to president Marella Krein. She points out that the league had to give up forums on the Mandan recall and measure No. 3 because of limited time. Had the league known the Morton candidates were going to be no-shows it could have scheduled something else.

"If these people know, why didn't they tell the league? We had to turn down three other races. To be stood up when we could have done another race … that was a disservice to us," Krein said. "Morton did it to us again."

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)