NCC to host initial candidate forum of the fall
Post on: 2011-08-26 By: admin
The contest for the mayor's office, four seats on Columbus City Council and school board will be
front and center this fall when the Northland Community Council hosts the first in a series of
candidate forums put on by the Franklin County Consortium for Good Government.
The NCC-sponsored forum is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church,
6077 Sharon Woods Blvd.
Council president Dave Paul, who is also again this year co-chairman of the Consortium for Good
Government, had previously announced the date for the forum, but he said last week the decision
about which races would be hosted where had only recently been made.
"I'm kind of pleased about it," Paul said. "Somebody had to go first."
The Sept. 27 date is earlier and on a different day of the week than had traditionally been the
case for candidate forums put on by the community council. Those normally were held the first
Monday in October, but Paul said he pushed this time around to change that in order not to conflict
with a city council meeting, which would have prevented that race from being the topic or council
candidates from attending if some other races or issues were on tap.
Instead, the forum was moved to the last Tuesday in September.
"We kind of jumped to the front of the pack and that's fine," Paul said.
The list of sites and the schedule for which races will be handled where have been established
and will soon be available at the consortium's website, www.franklincountyconsortium.com.
A coalition of religious groups and other nonpartisan organizations, the consortium and its
forums grew out of one put on in 1991 by Brookwood Presbyterian Church and the National Council of
Jewish Woman.
The events, which last until about 9 p.m., begin with a reception at 6:30 p.m. permitting
residents to meet candidates. The forum itself involves citizens posing questions and a moderated
discussion, according to Paul.
"The consortium prides itself on sort of making sure that it is, in fact, not a debate per se,
and that it does fairly give the candidates time to respond to questions, and that those questions
actually come from the public," he said. "They are questions submitted by members of the public who
come to the event.
"We try to make sure that we're really exploring where the candidates stand that the public has
on its mind."
Volunteers make certain these aren't "attack questions," Paul said, or worded in such a way that
they cannot be answered by all the candidates.
Invited to participate on Sept. 27 will be incumbent Democratic Mayor Michael B. Coleman and his
Republican opponent, retired Columbus Division of Police Sgt. Earl W. Smith; the four incumbent
Democrats on council, President Andrew J. Ginther and members Hearcel F. Craig, Zachary M. Klein
and Michelle M. Mills; their opponents, Republicans Daryl Hennessy and Matt Ferris, and
Libertarians Robert Bridges and Mark Noble; and all of those seeking to remain on or join the
Columbus City Schools Board of Education, which includes at least six write-in candidates.
"Which, all told, is about 20 candidates and that's about all we can fit into one event," Paul
said.
Consortium candidate forums are all-volunteer events, including the moderators, most of them
well-known members of the local media, he added.
Volunteers will be needed on Sept. 27 to provide attendees with pencils and paper on which to
write their questions as well as to gather these up. Timers are needed who can operate a stopwatch
and flash time-warning signs to the candidates. A small "screening committee" is needed to review
the questions.
Paul said anyone interested in helping out that night may send an email to info@myncc.org or
leave a message at (614) 219-9622.
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Article original from: http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/northland/stories/2011/08/24/ncc-to-host-initial-candidate-forum-of-the-fall.html?sid=104
