KCB to host political forum
By Nathan Straus News Reporter

Elections are about to begin for the three hotly contested Chandler City Council positions. In preparation for the early voting period to begin April 28, Keep Chandler Beautiful will host its first ever political forum.

Rick Ford, KCB president, said the forum will provide a way for each of the six candidates to get their views out to the public before the voting begins. Early voting will go from April 28 to May 6, with Election Day being May 10.

"Turnout will probably be pretty high," Ford said. "It could be standing room only."

The forum will begin at 6:30 pm and continue until about 8:30 or 9 pm. Citizens may send questions in to the candidates either by mailing Keep Chandler Beautiful at P.O. Box 1931, Chandler, TX, 75758, or by turning in a question at least 15 minutes before the questioning period begins.

"We are excited to be able to host a political forum for the candidates this year," said Ford in a press release. "We thought it would be a good idea to allow the public a chance to get to know each candidate a little better in order for them to make the best choice possible."

The forum will have a mingle time that will last till 7 pm, at this time the questions and answers will begin. Each candidate will be allowed to make a brief opening statement, and each question turned in must be signed in order to be considered.

Ford said a nonpartisan panel will go through the questions to make sure there are no duplicates or derogatory questions, and questions may be directed towards a particular candidate, but each will have an opportunity to answer it.

Questions involving pending litigation with the city will not be allowed as the current council members would not be allowed to comment.

Ford said the event could run longer than 9 pm if everyone gets into the spirit of things. There might even be a segment where candidates ask each other questions. The same rules for citizens' questions will apply.