A civic group in Bend is calling out Gov. Kate Brown for declining to participate in a debate east of the Cascades.

Republican Rep. Knute Buehler of Bend has tentatively agreed to participate in the City Club of Central Oregon debate, scheduled for Oct. 1. Brown, a Democrat, declined to participate without explanation, said city club executive director Joey Drucker. It would be the city club's first ever gubernatorial debate, although governors including Brown have spoken at its events.

"Although two-thirds of Oregon's land is located east of the Cascades Mountains, the region is often overlooked by politicians seeking statewide office," Drucker wrote in a news release on Tuesday.

Buehler called for 10 debates back in May, but Oregon candidates for governor typically participate in three or four debates in Portland, Eugene, Medford and Bend.

So far, Brown and Buehler have agreed to three debates:

Oct. 2 in Portland, with

Oct. 4 in Medford hosted by the television station KOBI

Oct. 9 on KGW and The Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland

Buehler and Independent Party of Oregon candidate Patrick Starnes already participated in a July candidate forum in central Oregon, but Brown did not attend. The City Club of Central Oregon has not invited Starnes to its debate, Drucker said.

In an invitation to Brown and Buehler, the City Club of Central Oregon pointed out that residents east of the Cascades have some specific interests and concerns that might not be addressed in the three scheduled forums. "The rocky divide between East and West should be geographic, not economic or political," the group wrote.

"We are nonpartisan and we just want to get the main candidates over here so our central Oregon residents can ask them questions that pertain to this area," Drucker said Tuesday.

Christian Gaston, Brown's campaign spokesman, wrote in an email that "each debate will be available for all Oregonians to view on television and online."

Brown's administration set goals earlier this year to communicate with residents in the Bend and Ontario media markets, but they planned to do so by pitching state government success stories to local reporters, according to a planning document released to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The governor does appear to be preparing for the upcoming debates. Her campaign reported spending $1,337 on Aug. 24 for the travel expenses of a communications consultant from the Bethesda, Maryland, firm Michael Sheehan Associates, Inc. According to the company's website, president Michael Sheehan has coached Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama before inaugural addresses, states of the union and other public events.

Brown has used Sheehan's services in the past, spending $12,663 during her 2016 election campaign and $1,425 in 2017, according to campaign finance records.

Monica Wroblewski, a spokeswoman for Buehler's campaign, wrote in an email that the Republican doesn't plan to work with a speech coach.

—Hillary Borrud

503-294-4034; @hborrud