Dayton candidate forum at The Liberty Theater

DAYTON-The Dayton Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold a Candidates Forum at the Liberty Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

The public is advised to arrive at 6:30 p.m. in the theater foyer, where they can fill out question cards for the candidates before the Forum begins. The completed questions cards will be the only opportunity for members of the audience to ask questins of the candidates.

A "Meet and Greet" session will follow the Forum.

The Forum will be presented in two parts this year.

Part one of the agenda will open to the candidates running in six races: U.S. Senate; U.S. Representative; WA State Representative, Positions 1 and 2; Columbia County Commissioner, Position 3; and Columbia County Sheriff have been invited to the Forum.

After each candidate in a race gives their statement, question cards will be drawn randomly from the boxes by the AAUW moderator. The moderator will read the question to the audience, and each candidate in that race will be given two minutes to answer.

Because of time constraints, the moderator will not allow questions taken from the audience other than those submitted on the question cards. It is important to arrive early to submit questions on the cards provided before the meeting.

Part two of the agenda concerns the proposed Metropolitan Park District. The formation of a Columbia County Joint Metropolitan Park District (JMPD) will be on the November ballot, including five board positions for the new JMPD.

The City Council Parks and Recreation Chair, Jim Su'euga, will explain the ballot measure to the audience. Candidates for the board positions will come to the stage and be introduced by the AAUW moderator. The candidates for each board position will answer two questions: A) What motivated you to run for this position? B) Can you prioritize the recreational needs that you see for our community? Board candidates will each have three minutes to answer the two questions.

AAUW thanked the Liberty Theater for providing the venue for our Forum. Covid mask policy will be that of the Liberty Theater, which is currently optional but recommended. The Forum is a free public event. It will not be hybrid/ZOOM-facilitated. Please make personal risk assessment for attending the in-person event.