A planned candidate forum for the Massachusetts 1st Congressional District was canceled this week after U.S. Rep. Richard Neal declined to participate, prompting criticism from challengers Nadia Milleron and Jeromie Whalen, who are raising questions as to why the incumbent rejected the invitation.

As the Massachusetts state election approaches in November, Neal, the longtime Springfield Democrat, along with challengers Milleron, an Independent from Sheffield, and Whalen, a Democrat from South Hadley, are ramping up campaign efforts to lead the sprawling district that includes the south central and western portions of the state.

The three candidates were invited to participate in a forum planned for Tuesday at Focus Springfield Community Access Television Studio. Milleron and Whalen had both accepted, and Neal declined.

The two challengers said they are disappointed that Neal did not want to participate and feel that he is avoiding a forum.

“He could’ve said, ‘I can’t do it at that time or could’ve rescheduled,'” Milleron said. “If you [Neal] wanted to do a candidate forum, as his constituents want him to, he could make it happen.”

In a separate interview, Whalen also criticized Neal. “They extended an invitation to Richard Neal, he declines. What I believe is at play is we have an absentee congressman who does not want to show up and have these conversations with his constituents.”

Wesley Weidemann, one of the forum’s main organizers, told the Gazette that the forum had been planned for months before Neal’s campaign notified him last Thursday that the congressman would not participate. The forum was organized in collaboration with the Partnership Alliance & Coalition Team and Gray Matters, two Springfield-based groups.

A day later, on Friday, former Springfield Mayor Robert “Bob” Markel, who was scheduled to moderate the forum, pulled out, Weidemann said. He said that Markel holds a position on a state board and was advised by his superior to back out of moderating to avoid any conflict of interest, after hearing that Neal was not going to participate.

Weidemann said Markel’s reasoning was that moderating could potentially violate the 1939 Hatch Act, a piece of federal legislation that limits certain activities of government employees.

“We had arranged for a prominent moderator, who I think would be viewed as nonpartisan for this event,” Weidemann said.

Markel could not be reached for comment this week.

When asked why Neal declined to participate, Neal’s campaign responded with a written statement to the Gazette that said, “Congressman Neal remains focused on standing up to the Trump administration’s corruption and abuses of power, which are driving up costs for working families across western and central Massachusetts.”

It continues, “He regularly meets with constituents, local officials, businesses and community organizations throughout the district and will continue engaging directly with voters in the months ahead to discuss his record and vision for the future of our region.”

The 1st Congressional District covers the bottom half of Hampshire County, including Easthampton, Belchertown, Granby, South Hadley and Southampton, as well as all of Berkshire and Hampden counties and portions of Franklin and Worcester counties.

The state primary election is Sept. 1. Because Milleron is running as an independent, she will advance directly to the November ballot. Neal and Whalen will face off in the Democratic primary, with the winner moving on to the general election.

Both Milleron and Whalen said they suggested other moderators that could have filled in, but the forum had already been canceled by that time. The candidates both expressed a desire for an in-person forum or debate with each other and Neal.

Milleron said that Markel moderating would not have been a violation of the Hatch Act.

“I don’t know if this is kind of an intimidation from stopping the forum from happening because it’s not true that this is violating the Hatch Act,” Milleron said.

Milleron said the timing of Neal declining and Markel backing out, within two days of each other and less than one week from the planned forum, is “very odd,” feeling that Neal intentionally waited to decline.

Whalen said he did not want to speculate and wanted to “stick to the facts.” Similar to Milleron, he questioned if Markel would have violated the Hatch Act if he had moderated.

“Herein lies the actual question: How is that a violation of the Hatch Act if there is a moderator asking questions in a nonpartisan candidates forum?” Whalen said. “This is a question for the legal scholars and at the same time this happens all very abruptly at the end of last week.”

Whalen suggested that Neal has a pattern of not attending candidate forums, which he said is a concern. He said that forums and debates are part of the political process and should be treated as an opportunity by politicians and candidates.

Milleron agrees, “I think that voters are hungry for this kind of live action and interaction. You get a lot of information about who is applying for this job by seeing them live and there is no other way to get that information.”

Weidemann said that the organizers are going to “regroup” and will be trying to schedule another forum.