Bob Brooks, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the Lehigh Valley, announced Monday afternoon he will no longer participate in the only planned debate with his opponent, Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, this week.

In a statement, Brooks campaign spokesperson Benny Stanislawski cited “outright lies against [Brooks] that go completely outside of the bounds of acceptable campaign rhetoric.”

Most recently, a lawyer for Brooks issued a cease-and-desist letter to Mackenzie’s campaign over an ad that the lawyer characterized as “blatantly false” and “defamatory.” The ad claims that Brooks broke state law by failing to provide workers’ compensation insurance for employees of his lawn care business between 2017 and 2021. Brooks’ lawyer argued that the company employed no one but Brooks at that time, which is why they did not need the insurance.

“In light of Mackenzie’s failure to abide by the cease and desist and unending defamatory rhetoric, including a disgraceful attack just today on Bob’s son, Bob informed WFMZ today that he will not give a platform for Mackenzie to continue to spread outright lies on television,” Stanislawski said in a statement.

Mackenzie’s campaign said it stands by the claims it makes in the ad. Mackenzie spokesperson Arnaud Armstrong, in a statement, called Brooks a “conman” who is “relying on lawyers to try and clean up his lies, frauds, and crooked schemes.”

Brooks was set to debate Mackenzie Wednesday at WFMZ studios, moderated by Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO and “Business Matters” program host Tony Iannelli.

Brooks was “eager to participate in a sit-down interview” with Iannelli during the allotted debate time, according to Stanislawski.

In a statement, Mackenzie spokesperson Andres Weller called Brooks’ last-minute decision to drop out of the debate a “carefully orchestrated spectacle” and said Brooks is “not capable of being a member of Congress.”

“It is no surprise that a man scapegoating his own son to cover up for his years long criminality refuses to face the press and voters and participate in a debate. This carefully orchestrated spectacle is Bob’s attempt to dodge accountability,” Weller said.

The cease-and-desist is the latest in a string of attacks between the two candidates in the highly competitive race. Mackenzie in particular has wagered serious attacks and allegations against Brooks, including calling him a “criminal” and “nutjob” in public forums.

Mackenzie’s campaign has attacked Brooks over a now-settled lawsuit with his former in-laws and cited reports in right-wing news outlets that Brooks’ salary increased while spending on the union decreased during his tenure as PFFA president and that he failed to properly report debts on his application for COVID-19 government relief.

Brooks has called the attacks “all untrue” and criticized Mackenzie’s voting record, including his support for President Donald Trump’s agenda.

According to Iannelli, WFMZ will cancel the debate in its entirety rather than hold one-on-one interviews with the candidates, as Brooks requested.

“I guess certainly in a perfect world, I would have loved to have the debate, we think that would have been best, for the people to hear the debate, and also for the community to be involved, or part of it, we do have a live audience,” Iannelli said in a phone interview. “It’s disheartening, but I hold no malice toward Bob’s campaign, they have a strategy and a campaign and they are doing what they feel is best for their candidate.”

“Of course we are disappointed, we have put a lot of time and energy into pulling these debates off for the community,” said Barry Fisher, President and General Manager of WFMZ. “But we understand decisions had to be made. We still stand ready to do a debate should things change.”

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