Washington candidate forum scheduled at Lebowski’s

WASHINGTON – The Washington Chamber of Commerce will hold its candidate forum in an unconventional location this election season, using the venue at Lebowski’s in Washington on Tuesday Nov. 1, exactly one week before Election Day.

“We’re looking forward to hosting this event in a new format that blends our traditional forum with a newer, more casual atmosphere,” Chamber Executive Director Michelle Redlinger said. “We want to provide an opportunity for the community to really meet the candidates personally, and talk about the issues and priorities that affect them.”

The first half of the event is a more traditional candidate forum, putting the candidates in contested campaigns on a stage to answer questions from a moderator. Those races are for State Senate District 46, between Sens. Dawn Driscoll (R) and Kevin Kinney (D) and for State House District 92, between candidates Heather Hora (R) and Eileen Beran (D.)

The forum portion will be broadcast live not only by radio station KCII, but in a video form for the first time via the Washington Live Facebook page, by the Southeast Iowa Union.

“Having local media stream and share the event is a game-changer in helping us reach our busy community,” Redlinger said. “We want the event to not only be informative, but accessible to everyone during and after the fact. It’s important that voters have a chance to learn more, even if they can’t join us in-person.”

After the forum, from 5-6 p.m., Lebowski’s will host a more casual Candidate Mixer, where community members enjoy refreshments and talk one-on-one with state and local candidates.

Those interested can email questions for the candidate forum to [email protected] by Tuesday, Oct. 25.