«However, because of pending deadlines for parties to formally place alternate candidates on the ballot, I simply am not willing to take a chance that Ken LaValle and his incompetent political agenda would run unopposed for a second straight election should my further appeals fail.» (nystateofpolitics.com)
A simple, «I'm sorry, I am actively working on several projects with pending deadlines. (inc.com)
Furthermore, there may be other reasons — other than pending deadlines — why a program officer might be busy, postulated KS2. (sciencemag.org)