The local political season heats up this week.
On Monday, the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and League of Women Voters Emporia chapter had a traditional Candidate Forum involving the Emporia City Commission and USD 253 Emporia. Candidates were given opening statements, short windows to answer questions from moderator Ken Weaver and short closing comments during the event.
School board candidates Jami Reever, Lillian Lingenfelter and Barb Fowler were invited despite the fact that there three positions up for election after Jennifer Thomas decided against running for re-election and no other candidates stepped forward.
On Wednesday, Kansas Spanish Speakers has its first City Commission Candidate Forum. This will take place at the Lee Beran Recreation Center from 6-8 pm.
On Tuesday, KVOE News begins its Candidate Spotlights, featuring one-on-one interviews with City Commission candidates. This is a departure from KVOE’s longstanding tradition of group forums with the goal of getting deeper answers into some of the main issues facing the city and its residents. The on-air schedule is as follows:
*Tuesday: Kurt Steinkuhler, Aaron Larson
*Thursday: Don Loux, Tyler Curtis
*Oct. 14: Denise Gilligan, Tammi Ogle
*Oct. 16: Monica Duncan, Kenneth Gardner, Travis Hitt
Spotlights go in the 10 am hour. In Hitt’s case, his interview will be at 11:06 am Oct. 16.
All interviews will be stored in the KVOE.com Audio Vault and will be accessible in the soon-to-be-published KVOE News Voter Information Guide courtesy of Community National Bank.
