A nonpartisan candidate forum Tuesday, Oct. 15, will feature the seven individuals running for Allegan City Council in November.
Each has agreed to participate in the forum, which will be at the Allegan District Library Carnegie Room beginning at 6 p.m.
Candidates for the four, four-year terms include Roger Bird, Peter Hanse and Theresa Galloway along with incumbents Delora Andrus, Nancy Ingalsbee and Mike Manning.
David Redding will also participate as he is running unopposed for the remainder of the partial term to which Andrus was appointed last August after former Mayor Stacie Stotmeister resigned. The full terms expire in 2023; the partial term expires in 2021.
Incumbents Patrick Morgan and Charles Tripp did not file for re-election.
The library, Allegan Area Chamber of Commerce and Allegan County News have partnered to organize the forum.
Library executive director Ryan Deery said, “We decided to plan the forum with the shared mission of providing reliable and timely information as well as representing the well-being of our community and local economy in advance of the Nov. 5 election.”
The formal, question-and-answer forum will provide equal time to each candidate and be broadcast on Facebook Live. It will be strictly independent of sectarian affiliation.
Deery said, “Our partnership made sense for a variety of reasons. The library is always planning activities to provide reliable information to its patrons. The chamber gathers the voices of our local businesses, which this city council governs. And The Allegan County News covers our local government and disseminates that information to the community.”
Chamber executive director Tim Perrigo will provide opening remarks and be the forum’s official timekeeper, as candidates will have limited time with which to provide their answers.
Perrigo said, “After each makes an opening statement, they will all then be asked a series of prepared questions. The event will follow forum protocol and is not a debate.
“We anticipate it will last approximately two hours.”
The public can submit their own questions in advance of the event to rdeery@alleganlibrary.org or write them out on cards at the forum.
Deery and Allegan District Library board president Michael Kiella will moderate the forum and screen those public questions; time constraints and other factors will determine which and how many audience questions are utilized.
Kiella said, “It is in the best interest of the community for residents to be informed about the candidates running for elected public office.
“The opportunity to hear responses to relevant questions, directly from the candidates, provides an authoritative mechanism for residents to learn about candidate positions on the issues and to measure their demeanor and competence when addressing those issues in public.”
While reservations are not required, those interested in attending are encouraged to RSVP at (269) 673-4625 or to rdeery@alleganlibrary.org to help the library plan for the event.
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