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LWV to hold candidate forum
Event to feature local office seekers
new deh lwv forum LWV logo.png

 The League of Women Voters will host a candidates’ forum, and all those who have filed for local offices will be invited to speak. It will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the Crest Theater,1905 Lakin in Great Bend. Rose Kelly will be the moderator. 

The public is invited and encouraged to attend to listen to the candidates answer questions on predetermined subjects, said the LWV’s Rebecca Dudrey. The candidates will draw from a pool of prepared questions.

The candidates speaking in the forum must have filed for election before the closing date and must be listed on the ballot. No “write-ins” or “late-declarers” will be on the stage, Dudrey said. 

The forum will follow the rules of the National League of Women Voters, she said. There will be no vocal audience participation as it is not interactive. 

If the public has questions they need to contact a League member beforehand for them to be considered, although there is a chance not all questions will be drawn. The queries may not target any particular candidate, but must be about the issues. 

There will be no campaigning at the forum, Dudrey said. All local candidates will be included. The Barton Community College Board of Trustees candidates are running unopposed, so they will be introduced only.

The candidates are:

• For Unified School District 428 School Board – Donald L. Williams, Jacqueline M. Disque, Deanna Miller, Brandon Depenbusch and Doug Bender. 

• For BCC trustees – John Moser and Don Learned (there are three seats up for election). 

• For Great Bend mayor – Joe Andrasek, Brock McPherson and Allene Owen.

• For Great Bend City Council – Ward 1, H. Mike Boys and Dan Heath; Ward 2, Jolene Biggs, Rachel F. Mawhirter and Matt Suchy; Ward 3 Thomas Boor, Stacy Doughtery and Cory Urban; and Ward 4, Andrew Scott Erb.

The event is open to the public and free of charge. It is sponsored by the Great Bend Tribune.

For more information or to submit questions, contact Dudrey at 620-793-5603 or 620-617-2586, Jari Marietta at 620-793-6863, Rose Kelly at 620-792-4288, or any League member.