Murfreesboro voters will get a chance to hear from candidates on the August 4th ballot in a duo of voter forums on July 18 at Murfreesboro City Hall. Hosted by the League of Women Voters in partnership with Murfreesboro CityTV, the forums will include candidates for Murfreesboro City School Board at 6:30 p.m. and candidates for Murfreesboro City Council at 7:30 p.m. The public is invited to attend. The forums will also be cablecast live on Murfreesboro CityTV (Comcast channel 3 and AT&T channel 99) and recablecast at later times.
All five City School Board candidates are confirmed to be in attendance, and two of the three City Council candidates, Bill Shacklett and Kirt Wade, are also confirmed. Candidates will introduce themselves and respond to a moderator’s questions on a timed basis. A pool of questions for the moderator’s usage are compiled by a League committee using citizen input.
The League attempts to schedule forums for all contested general elections. In order to assure impartiality and comply with FCC rules for televised events, a majority of candidates must agree to participate in order for the League to go forward with a forum. Although this year the City Council race is uncontested, the League is still offering a forum in response to public interest in hearing from new and incumbent candidates, said Leslie Collum, League co-president.
Audience members should be seated 10 minutes prior to each forum start time. No partisan materials can be on display in the forum.
Live web-streaming of the forums will also be available at www.murfreesborotn.gov/citytv . Later video on demand viewing will be available at www.youtube.com/cityofmurfreesboro.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership in the League is open to men and women of all ages. For more information about this program and the League, visit lwvrutherford.org.
