Conventional wisdom in politics states people start paying attention to elected races after Labor Day.

If that is true this year, then those taking a fresh look at the 50th House of Delegates district this year are in for quite an introduction.

The rhetorical flares between the campaigns of Del. Jackson Miller (R) of Manassas and third-time challenger Jeanette Rishell (D) of Manassas Park started Sept. 1 when a press release by Rishell's campaign stated Miller "refused" to participate in a debate hosted by the local NAACP.

Miller responded by calling out Rishell for "lies" and challenging her credibility.

As for who is right about what, it's all a matter of technicalities.

Miller did refuse to debate on the exact date offered, Oct. 17, but has been open to debating on other days. He has a family event scheduled for Oct. 17.

Rishell was right to claim Miller "refused to participate in this year's debate" on the date given, as written in a press release, but Miller vehemently denies that he would not participate in any NAACP debate on "a date that worked with his calendar."

Here is what happened:

On August 12, NAACP Community Affairs chairwoman Norma Fields sent an e-mail to Miller stating, "The PWC Branch NAACP requests Delegate Miller's participation in a political forum/debate with the Democratic Candidate on October 17, 2009 in the fellowship hall of First Baptist Church, Manassas, Virginia. The forum will run from 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM. We look forward to your response."

Kathryn Rawley of Miller's office wrote in a statement, "Everything else was handled by phone. We did not send any messages through e-mail."

Rishell's campaign accepted immediately. Miller's campaign staffer Corry Bliss ended up exchanging voicemails and phone calls with Fields, who claims neutrality in her work with the NAACP though she donated $200 to Rishell's campaign on March 26 according to VPAP.org. The talks led to a conversation on Monday, Aug. 24 when Bliss said he would ask Miller about his availability.

Bliss did not respond to Fields before the end of the week, so Fields left him a voicemail that Friday morning.

Fields and Bliss disagree about what they said during a follow-up phone call on Monday, Aug. 31. Fields said she asked if Miller had any flexibility in his schedule for a new date but he said no, which Bliss denies. Bliss said he asked if the date could be moved and that Fields denied to accommodate him, which she denies.

Whatever was actually said though led to Fields informing Rishell's campaign that Miller would not participate in the debate. Fields said she did not remember whether she used the word "refused."

Rishell campaign staffer Ilana Kaplan-Shain then issued the following statement at the beginning of a press release dated Sept. 1, which was approved by Rishell:

"Yesterday the Jeanette Rishell for Delegate campaign received word from a member of the Prince William County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that Delegate Jackson Miller has refused to participate in this year's debate. Delegate Miller was contacted several times by the Prince William NAACP in order to schedule a date that worked with his calendar. On the most recent call to the Miller campaign, the NAACP was informed that Delegate Miller would not fit the debate into his schedule and his campaign would not be sending a surrogate."

The word "refused" and the insinuation that Miller would not participate in a debate sponsored by the NAACP angered Miller.

However, he received a phone call from the local NAACP president Ralph Smith that morning saying no one from the NAACP told Rishell's campaign that he "refused" to debate at all.

"He’s made it very clear that it was not his intent to ignore or insult the organization," said Smith in an interview.

Miller slammed Rishell for going "back to her lies, like two years ago."

He later added, "Criticize me on political points; don't make up lies. I mean, it's her history."

That history includes mailers sent out mailers in 2007 inaccurately stating Miller voted to increase his own pay as an elected official either in Richmond or during his time on the Manassas City Council.

The incumbent eventually said, "These are just cheap-shot press releases" and "She’s trying to suggest that I’m against the NAACP or I’m against black people."

When asked to respond to Miller's accusations after a campaign event that Tuesday evening, Rishell declined to speak on the record. She wrote the following in an e-mail that night:

"It’s sad that Delegate Miller’s kneejerk reaction to criticism is to lash out. Instead of making accusations about my character, Delegate Miller needs to get his facts straight."

Smith summed up the situation by saying he thought Miller's campaign "would admit that they were negligent in getting back to us timely" but was "disappointed that the debate won't take place because of the he said, she said [dialogue]; that's just silliness."

As of press time, the debate was still scheduled for Oct. 17 with only Rishell committed. The two candidates are set to debate prior to that on Sept. 22 in Manassas at an event hosted by the Prince William Committee of 100.