There have been several changes in the dates for upcoming candidate forums. One organization postponed their forum until a date that another forum was already scheduled, causing that organization to delay their forum one week into May. Here is a revised schedule of forums that I plan to attend. If there are future changes, I will post them on my blog, so it may be a good idea to check back here within the next week or so.
* Monday, April 21 - Liberators forum at Round Table Pizza, Roseburg, 6:00p.m.
* [CANCELLED] ---Tuesday, April 29 - Winston Chamber of Commerce forum at Community Baptist Church, Winston, 6:00p.m.
* [???? ---- Unsure if they will keep the new May 6th date, or move it back to April 29th.]
Tuesday, May 6 - League of Women Voters forum at Douglas County Courthouse Annex, Roseburg, 6:00p.m.
I have to admit that I'm becoming disappointed in how this election season is shaping up. In previous elections, I would have already attended several forums by this time, with several more scheduled before the end of April.
This year, there has not yet been a single candidates forums where all seven Douglas County Commissioner candidates have been invited to attend. The one non-partisan forum that was held featured four of the seven candidates. It's getting down to the wire, so that the forums that are held will be close to the date when the ballots are sent out. That's not much time for voters to research the candidates after hearing them speak, and offer support to those candidates whom they favor.
My biggest concern is that the election may be held without the majority of voters even knowing anything about the candidates running for Douglas County Commissioner. Forums not only provide information for those who attend, but also provide information through the news media. Print and broadcast journalists often attend candidate forums and write stories about where the candidates stand on the issues. Because no seven-candidate forums have yet been held, media coverage of the commissioner's race has been almost non-existent.
Further compounding the problem is that the News-Review is not offering a Question-and-Answer column for the commissioner candidates each week in the newspaper, as they have done in previous years. But I don't fault the News-Review for that. With seven candidates in the running, it would be difficult to provide enough column-inch space in the newspaper for all of the candidates' answers.
Win or lose, I'm gong to persevere until the very end. I have some name recognition from when I ran in previous races, and I'm trusting the some of the voters out there are still familiar with where I stand on the issues. Of course, there's always this blog, for those who take the time to read my entries.
Thanks again for your support and I look forward to seeing you at the candidate forums!
ReplyDeleteCOMMENTS FROM MY FACEBOOK POST ON THIS SAME COLUMN:
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Roger Stewart and Ann Hamilton like this..
[David Quigley] nothing like making the democratic process an informed one in Douglas County...it sounds to me like there could be certain people who are trying to control the election.
[Monte Muirhead] Do you think? I've been around conspiracies way too much.
[David Quigley] this one is pretty blatant in its lack of subtlety... but who is behind it?
[Monte Muirhead] Dave: I'll send you a personal message. I honestly don't know if it's an innocent oversight due to voter apathy, or if there is a concerted effort to muzzle some of the candidates from receiving any publicity. I can tell you this....there is an unusual amount of statewide special interest groups making endorsements in this race. In other words, the two winning candidates may be the ones who receive the most endorsements from statewide PACS....which seems strange in a local race