Candidate forums Thursday

Posted

BROOKINGS – Candidates for Brookings City Council and Brookings School Board will meet starting at 6 p.m. Thursday at candidate forums hosted by the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee.

The forums will be held in the third-floor chambers of the Brookings City & County Government Center, 530 Third St. 

Brookings City Council candidates will answer questions from 6-7 p.m., and Brookings School Board candidates from 7-8 p.m. 

Candidates who have filed for the two, three-year council seats are Patty Bacon, Verna Longville, Nick Schmeichel and Nick Wendell. Filing for the one-year city council race are Holly Tilton Byrne and Joey Collins. 

For school board, candidates Deb DeBates, Roger DeGroot and Randy Grimsley are running for two three-year seats. 

Organizers say the forums allow area residents an opportunity to become better informed about the candidates and their position on current issues.  

They’re asking the public for questions in advance as well as questions during the forums. Written questions can be submitted by emailing info@brookingschamber.org.

“These forums are a great opportunity to hear from our future elected officials and will provide voters with educated and informed answers to their questions,” said David Merhib, president and CEO of the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce. “If you cannot attend on Thursday, March 8, these forums will be rebroadcast, and I encourage our voting public to listen in.”   

The event will be broadcast live on the City of Brookings television channel (channel 9 on Mediacom, Swiftel, and ITC). The rebroadcast schedule is: 

• 9 a.m. Saturday, March 10 

• 2 p.m. Sunday, March 11

• 6 p.m. Monday, March 12

Area residents are encouraged to participate by attending the candidate forums in person. Contact the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce at 692-6125 for more information.