Candidate forum set for Oct. 21, questions welcomed

With less than a month to go before the Nov. 2 election, local, state and federal candidates are working to spread their messages to voters. During a forum scheduled for Oct. 21, voters will have the opportunity to ask questions of candidates in five races.

The Ozark Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum takes place from 6:30 p.m. To 8 p.m. Oct. 21 at the Ozark Community Center gymnasium, 1530 W. Jackson in Ozark. Candidates for Christian County Recorder of Deeds, State Representative Districts 142 and 141, State Senator District 20 and U.S. Representative District 7 each will be given two minutes to introduce themselves, answer questions posed by moderator Curtis Chesick of Ozark School District, and make one-minute closing statements. A meet-and-greet will follow the forum.

Questions, along with the name and town of residence for the person asking, can be e-mailed to the Ozark chamber at info@ozarkchamber.com by 4 p.m. on Oct. 20. Those who attend the forum also will be able to write down their questions at the event, said Dori Grinder, executive director of the chamber. Questions will be vetted by the chamber’s 12-member legislative affairs committee.

“The committee is very much a proponent of a forum, not a debate,” Grinder said. “We don’t want to hear, ‘He said, she said,’ We want to hear from the candidates themselves.”

Candidates who have confirmed participation in the Ozark chamber’s forum are below.

• Christian County Recorder of Deeds: Kelly Blunt-Hall (R) and Candy Valdivia (D)

• State Representative District 142: Raymond “Ray” Weter (R)

• State Representative District 141: Kevin Elmer (R) and Bob Rubino (D)

• State Senator District 20: Terry Traw (D) and Jay Wasson (R)

• U.S. Representative District 7: Kevin Craig (L) and Scott Eckersley (D)

U.S. Representative District 7 candidates Kevin Craig (L), Scott Eckersley (D) and Billy Long (R) will have their final opportunity to debate earlier in the week. On Oct. 19, the three candidates are expected to take part in the last of three debates scheduled in southwest Missouri. The debate will take place at Willard High School auditorium beginning at 7 p.m., according to the Web site of its sponsor, Yesterday’s Oath Under Nobel Guardians, or YOUNG, Conservatives of America.

The first two debates took place Oct. 6 at Joplin High School and Oct. 7 at KOLR studios.

 

 

 

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