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Grants Pass candidate for governor wants seat at KOBI debate Cliff Thomason Wednesday Oct 12, 2016 at 5:18 PM Oct 12, 2016 at 5:50 PM By Shaun Hall Grants Pass Daily Courier Independent Party candidate and Grants Pass resident Cliff Thomason is pushing to be included in Thursday's gubernatorial debate in Medford.  His supporters are lobbying for support on social media, noting the irony that a candidate from Southern Oregon has been excluded from the debate on KOBI-TV, even though the state has declared the Independent Party as Oregon's third major party based on voter registration numbers. Meanwhile, commissioners from five counties in Southern Oregon have sent a letter to California Oregon Broadcasting, the parent company of KOBI-TV, asking for his inclusion. "I should be a part of it," said Thomason, a local real estate agent and hemp farmer who also has not been invited to participate in an Oct. 20 debate hosted by Portland TV station KGW and The Oregonian newspaper. "The voters want to see all the choices, not the selected few." Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Bud Pierce are scheduled to participate in Thursday's debate, which will air from 7 to 8 p.m. on KOBI Channel 5, KOTI Channel 2, KLSR in Eugene and KEVU.  Bob Wise, KOBI vice president and general manager, issued a statement today noting that the debate had been confirmed with the two candidates and announced in August and Thomason didn't ask to be included until Oct. 6. "This will be the seventh U.S. Senate or Gubernatorial Debate NBC5 has carried in the past ten years," the statement said. "NBC5 has used a benchmark of a candidate polling at 10 percent of the electorate to participate, and Mr. Thomason does not meet that minimum percentage." Wise said the station planned to schedule an interview with Thomason within the next couple of weeks. Last week, Thomason participated with other major party candidates in a debate organized by the League of Women Voters and Oregon Public Broadcasting in Eugene. "Our party has over 110,000 members," Thomason said. "In addition to the 250,000 to 400,000 nonaffiliated voters, you're looking at half a million voters wanting to see all the candidates." The seven county commissioners requesting Thomason's participation in Thursday's debate are from Josephine, Jackson, Douglas, Coos and Curry counties, including all three commissioners from Josephine County. In a letter to company president Patsy Smullin, the commissioners state they are not endorsing any candidates with their request. "Oregon has long been noted for its progressive approach to the election process," the commissioners wrote. "As such, we feel it would be in the best interests of our voters to hear from all of the major party candidates in the race. "This request stems purely from the idea that hearing from all major party candidates will better inform the electorate." — Reach reporter Shaun Hall at 541-474-3722 or [email protected]. KOBI's statement was added to this story.