The Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce and Tourism will sponsor local candidates’ forums on Monday, Oct. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. for Iron Gate Town Council at the Iron Gate Firehouse; Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. for Covington City Council at Edgemont Primary School; and Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m. for Clifton Forge Town Council at the Historic Masonic Theatre.
The public is encouraged to attend; social distancing is encouraged and attendees are asked to wear masks.
The forums are being sponsored by the chamber as an effort to encourage citizens to become more involved in local government by learning about the issues and positions of each candidate.
All candidates are invited to participate including write-in candidates. The chamber requests that all who plan to participate contact the chamber office at 962-2178 in order to allow for adequate setup for the event.
Those on the ballots include:
Monday, Oct. 19, 6 p.m. Iron Gate Town Council
Mayor: Charles Unroe;
Council: James Mays, Ashley Prior, Jennifer Nicely.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. Covington City Council
District 1: Eddie Joe Entsminger, Lance Carson;
District 3: Raymond Hunter;
District 4: Tom Sibold;
District 5: David Crosier.
Tuesday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. Clifton Forge Town Council
Jeffrey Irvine, David Oeltjen, Oliver Reid, Carl Wolfe.
The public will be allowed to submit written questions at the forum; a panel will review the questions before they are posed to the candidates.
Moderators will pose the questions to the candidates and each candidate will have a limited time to respond. The moderator for Iron Gate will be Jonathan Arritt, the moderator for Covington will be Richard Crowder and the moderator for Clifton Forge will be Greg Madsen.
At the end of the forum, each candidate will be given three minutes to present statements about their candidacy and explain why they are running for office and their position on various issues.
Questions may be submitted in advance by email at info@ahchamber.com.
Questions may also be submitted the night of the forum. Call the chamber office at (540) 962-2178 if you have any questions or need additional information.