With Election Day less than three weeks away, the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce Government Matters Committee and League of Women Voters took their normal Candidate Forum in a new direction Tuesday night.
Organizers brought the candidates to the Trusler Business Center for a socially-distanced discussion about the issues, and they broadcast the event on the Chamber’s Facebook page. Chamber President and CEO Jeanine McKenna says this was a pretty natural adjustment, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
McKenna also says forums are vitally important to the election process, regardless of whether a pandemic is in place, because they give voters a better sense of the candidates and their positions on the issues.
The forum welcomed candidates for Lyon County’s three contested races: Kansas Senate 17th District candidates incumbent Republican Jeff Longbine and challenger Steve Vecchione; Kansas House 60th District candidates incumbent Republican Mark Schreiber and Democrat challenger Todd Maddox; and Lyon County Commission Second District candidates Democrat Ron McCoy and Republican Doug Peck. Each race was given 30 minutes for the candidates to answer questions from moderator Steve Brosemer and from residents, either submitted beforehand or during the program.
