Will the public get a chance to probe candidates for office in the two 91原创s this fall?
At this point, it isn鈥檛 clear that there will be any traditional all-candidates meetings for 91原创 Board of Education, 91原创 City council and 91原创 Township council candidates.
Greater 91原创 Chamber of Commerce is hosting two events, one for City candidates on Nov. 2 and another for Township candidates on Nov. 9.
There will be a brief opportunity for candidates to introduce themselves, and give brief remarks about their ackgrounds and platforms. They will then be asked to vote on a series of questions, much as they would if elected. Then four of them will give one-minute explanations after each vote, stating why they voted the way they did.
It is a novel format and will likely help the meeting to move along quickly 鈥� but it is unclear how much substance will result. Candidates are only guaranteed that they will be able to give two one-minute explanations for their votes. Two minutes out of two hours isn鈥檛 much of an opportunity to assess the merits of the candidates.
The candidates for mayor in both the City and Township will speak at the chamber鈥檚 Nov. 15 dinner meeting, and that may well be the only chance they will have to face off. There are three mayoral candidates in the Township and two in the city.
No other meetings have been formalized thus far, although some people are looking into other possibilities. The Times is unaware of any meetings for candidates for the Board of Education thus far.
There will be a 鈥渕eet and greet鈥� on Nov. 16 for Township council candidates, and they will be able to introduce themselves, but there will be no formal questioning of candidates in public.
The Times is posting two-minute videos from candidates on its website, and this gives potential voters an opportunity to find out more about them and their platforms. The majority of candidates have either already taken part or pledged to do so. As of Monday afternoon, 29 candidate videos had been posted at www.langleytimes.com.
These videos will be posted on our website until Nov. 18, the day before election day.
We will also be publish answers from candidates to questions we pose, in our Nov. 1 and 8 editions.
