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As the mayoral campaign in Minneapolis enters its final weeks, the challengers are asking: Where's R.T.?
Two-term Minneapolis incumbent R.T. Rybak has yet to appear at a voter forum with those seeking his job.
The latest no-show by Rybak -- his office said he was busy phoning targeted voters -- happened last week during a taping involving mayoral candidates at Minneapolis Television Network, which provides public access cable.
That prompted complaints from two of the five candidates appearing on the show, co-hosted by bloggers Don Allen and Terry Yzaguirre.
"Just think, wouldn't it be great if we actually had the mayor of the city here?" asked Papa John Kolstad, whose Republican and Independence party endorsements make him one of the more visible challengers.
"Elections are about people who are in office to be accountable," he said, "to come to the citizens and come to the challengers and to talk about what's going on in their city, and if they can answer those adequately, they should be reelected.
"I think there's really something wrong in the city about democracy. That's what we brag about in America and in Minnesota, democracy, and about the public process. You cannot have a public process when the elected officials will not come out," Kolstad said.
Another candidate, Al Flowers, added: "Here you got a mayor who has not come and told you what his vision is for the next four years because one of them is to be governor. That's why he's not here."
