Two Elgin groups host candidate forum March 2
The Near West Neighbors Association has partnered with the South West Area Neighbors Association to offer a candidate forum at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 2 in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church, 330 Griswald St. in Elgin.
The forum is scheduled to run until 9 p.m.
This forum will feature all of the candidates for the Elgin City Council, as well as both mayor candidates. A video of the forum will be posted on You Tube.
The Near West Neighbors Association has conducted candidate forums for over 10 years. These forums have provided a great way for neighbors to evaluate the candidates, and also allowing neighborhood issues to be raised in a public forum.
The NWNA board has attended many local forums to study them, and figure out what makes a good forum, and what things should be avoided. The end result has been a forum that has been fast paced, informative and entertaining. But the attendance seems to have gotten stuck at about 85 people.
In 2010, SWAN and NWNA cooperated on the board level, and found a good level of compatibility. With a new president in the NWNA starting in January of 2011, it seemed like a good time to try and figure out how to improve the forum.
Partnering with SWAN to create a larger, better-attended forum seemed logical. So in December 2010, both boards voted to host a joint candidate forum. The subsequent planning meetings have been enthusiastically engaging, and the end result should be a welcome improvement to past forums.
SWAN's president, Crysta Anderson, will moderate one half of the forum. The other half of the evening will be moderated by the NWNA's new president, Michael Gibbons.
The NWNA's famous jumbo display digital count-down timer will be used to allow the candidates and the audience to exactly see how much time each candidate has to answer. This helps the evening to flow very smoothly. And the trademark "Gong" will be used for those candidates who choose to ignore the count-down timer. Refreshments will also be provided.
All questions will be submitted by the audience in writing and given to the moderator. The questions are not signed, so the candidates will not know the source of the question. The moderator will select the questions, with the goal being to ask as many questions as is possible, while avoiding redundant or confusing questions.
If you have any questions, please call (847) 622-1835 or e-mail to chuck.keysor@sbcglobal.net.