RADFORD – Radford voters will have a chance to get to know the candidates for Radford City Council and the Radford City School Board at two upcoming candidate forums.
Co-sponsored by the Radford Chamber of Commerce, the Montgomery County-Radford City-Floyd County Branch NAACP, and the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, the candidate forums will be held in person at the Radford High School auditorium and also will be broadcast live on Facebook.com/radfordchamberofcommerce, Facebook.com/mrfnaacp.org, and Facebook.comLWVofMCVA. The forums will also be posted the next day on www.radfordchamber.org, www.lwvmcva.org, and www.mrfnaacp.org.
The first of the two forums will feature the candidates for the Radford City Council (council members and the mayoral candidate). It will be held Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. at the Radford High School Auditorium. Invited candidates are: R. David Horton (mayor), and council member candidates Kellie Banks Artrip, Bobby L. Davis, Jessie C. Foster, Seth J. Gillespie, Janiele V. Hamden, and Chad L. McClanahan.
The second forum will feature candidates for the Radford City School Board and will be held Monday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Radford High School Auditorium. Invited candidates are Gloria W. Boyd, Chris B. Calfee, Ed J. Dickenson, and R. Jane Swing.
The moderator for both forums is Karen E. Jones. The candidates will have two minutes to introduce themselves and tell why they are running for office. Questions for the forum will come from the audience, which will be asked to submit questions during registration and will be able to submit questions during the forum using a Q and A box. Audience questions will be screened for duplication and variety. The public can also submit questions ahead of time at https://mrfnaacp.com/RadfordCityCandidateQuestions.
The moderator will address those questions to all the candidates, and she will rotate the order in which questions are asked among the candidates. Each candidate will have up to two minutes to answer each question. A rebuttal will be allowed for up to one minute per question. Candidates will be able to offer only one rebuttal per question. Each candidate will have two minutes to make a closing statement. During the closing statement, candidates may address any of the questions previously asked.
The Radford Heritage Foundation will host a Meet and Greet with the Radford mayoral and city council candidates on Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Glencoe Mansion, Museum and Gallery.
“Join us for this unique opportunity to meet with all the candidates in one place,” said Radford Heritage Foundation Director Scott Gardner. “Spend time with them in a casual atmosphere to learn more about them and their visions for Radford’s future.”
Tracy Howard, the general registrar and director of elections will be at the event with voter registration and absentee ballot applications and sample ballots. He will also answer questions about voting, the election, and the ballots.
The event is open to the public.
Radford News Journal Staff report