Opinion tide seems to be turning. I think Olivia's going to look great tomorrow. The only candidate who didn't back out on priority neighbourhoods? That's the principled stand.
90% of the people who have heard this story don't know who was hosting the debate though clearly she is trying to spin that as the issue.
All everyone knows is Doug threw a tantrum and the organizers caved.
Would it be more or less of a "principled stand" if this debate was being put on by the Board of Trade or the UJA or any other group? No - it's just convenient for her to say this is about the priority neighbourhoods.
Everyone knows Doug's tactics. The organizer is to blame for caving and Tory took the principled stand which is, "If you're disinviting candidates from a debate because of one candidate's request, it's not a fair debate and I'm not participating."
See, Doug can say that about Ari because he's small potatoes and he's a meanie. He WANTS Tory there so he can blah blah about "BackTrack" and Charter and say "What's the Story, Mr. Tory?" ten times.
He wants Olivia there because she will leave him alone and also go at Tory.
Otherwise, if either of them were the threat that 'insignificant' Goldkind is, he could just as easily have forced the organizers' hand by saying, "If Tory isn't there, I'm not either," and Olivia's hypocrisy would be even clearer.
(On principle, part of me would support Goldkind/Chow/Tory saying they're not attending any more debates with this Ford moron, but practically speaking the issue is that if Doug, a legit candidate, was invited by their host, it's not their place to dictate otherwise.)