Candidate forums: Your chance to quiz local hopefuls for library and school boards in Batavia and St. Charles
The League of Women Voters of Central Kane County will be hosting two candidate forums featuring the candidates who are in contested races for the library board and school board in the cities of Batavia and St. Charles. Candidates will appear on the April consolidated election ballot.
The forums will be live, in-person, and open to the public. They also will be livestreamed and available for later viewing on the websites of the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County (lwvckcil.com) and the Illinois Voter Guide (illinoisvoterguide.org).
Candidates will be allowed time at the beginning and at the end of their respective segments for opening and closing statements. During each segment, candidates will respond to audience questions submitted during registration and throughout the event.
Audience members’ questions will be reviewed by trained League members for appropriateness prior to asking.
The candidate forum for the Batavia Public Library board and Batavia Unit District 101 board will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30, at the Batavia City Hall, 100 N. Island Ave.
The following candidates were invited to participate:
• Batavia Public Library board: Christy Ford, Christopher Lowe, Marianne Fasano, Kathryn L. Hubbard and Jennifer Sutton
• Batavia Unit District 101 board: Lacey “Aerin” Einstein-Curtis, Kristin Gehrels, Katherine “Katy” Swiecicki, Craig S. Meadows, Aaron Kilburg, and Rose McNaul
The candidate forum for the St. Charles Public Library board and the St. Charles Unit District 303 board will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 3, at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave. in St. Charles. The following candidates were invited to participate:
• St. Charles Public Library board: Jane S. Shelton, Robert T. Gephart, Barbara Diepenbrock, and Joseph Gay
• St. Charles Unit District 303 board: Heidi J. Fairgrieve, Aaron White, Jenna Hancock, Elias Palacios, Kimberly Rich, Thomas Lentz, Antonietta Berton-Nicklaus, and Katherine (Kate) Bell
Patti Lackman, voter service chair of the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County, said, “We want to recognize and thank members of the community who step forward to run as candidates for positions on the library and school boards. These forums will give the community an opportunity to learn more about the candidates’ views and priorities. The League of Women Voters provides forums such as these as a service to the public. The more we know about our local candidates, the more confident we can be that they will represent our needs during their terms of office. The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization, and we never support or endorse candidates or political parties.”
Nonpartisan information about voting in Illinois can be found at illinoisvoterguide.org.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy.