Local candidates for the Emporia City Commission and USD 253 Board of Education had a great turnout for the annual League of Women Voters and Emporia Area Chamber Government Matters Committee Candidate Forum Tuesday night.
The forum, held at the Flint Hills Technical College Main Campus, saw a jam-packed conference room of eager voters. Chamber President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says the forums give voters a “better insight” into the candidates as people not just politicians.
She attributes that largely to the forum’s format.
In addition to the forum, each year the League of Women Voters provides an online questionnaire for local candidates. According to league representative Teressa Briggs those questionnaires have seen less and less participation over the past few years. When asked what she thinks is contributing to this decline in response, Briggs says she believes some feel the league is “partisan” leading them to shy away from filling out the questionnaire.
With that in mind, Briggs says she is thankful they have the in-person forums which she believes provide a greater sense of comfortability to candidates. She adds it is “great for both sides” — voters and candidates — because you are getting both a genuine question and a genuine answer.
Tuesday’s in-person forum followed KVOE’s first on-air candidate forum of the year, featuring Emporia City Commission incumbents Erren Harter and Becky Smith along with newcomer Will Spencer. KVOE’s candidate forums will continue Thursday with city commission incumbent Jamie Sauder and challenger Travis Hitt.
Our focus shifts to the USD 253 Emporia Board of Education for the next two Candidate Forums. Incumbents Jeremy Dorsey, Grant Riles and Leslie Seeley appear at 10:06 am Oct. 19, while newcomers Linda Forbes, Christy Grant and Sam Tovar join incumbent Art Gutierrez at 10:06 am Oct. 24. All programs will be stored in the KVOE.com Audio Vault after their completion.
