'Meet the Candidates' Forum Slated for Friday

Arbor Station and Chapel Hills Homeowners Associations are sponsoring a public forum Friday, Oct. 14 where the public will meet Douglasville’s 10 candidates, four for the mayor’s seat and six for the three City Council seats. These candidates will face off in the Nov. 8 municipal election.

The forum will be held at Arbor Station’s Community Center, located at 9650 Parkway Circle, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Each of the candidates will set up a booth with campaign signs and fliers. The forum will take on the look of a “Candidate Fair” with a question and answer period.

During the question and answer period, which is at the beginning of the forum, , , and will be given two minutes for an opening statement, outlining why they are the best candidate for mayor. Each candidate will then pick an envelope from a stack of four sealed envelopes. The envelope will be handed to the moderator to open and read the enclosed question. When the question is read, the candidate will have two minutes to respond. Once the candidate has responded, each of the other candidates running for mayor will be asked if they agree or disagree. They will be given one minute for rebuttal if they do not agree.

The candidates running for the City Council seats; and Ward 4, and Ward 5 Post 1, and Gene Butler and Ward 5 Post 2, will follow the same procedures. They will make a two minute opening statement outlining why they should be elected to the City Council.

Once the question and answer session is over, each of the candidates will be given two minutes for a closing statement and then move to their respective booths where they can greet the attendees and have a one-on-one.

Association Presidents Larry Yockey and Sam Bean wrote in a press release that the reason for holding the forum was that "the future of the is at a turning point and we must get this right. We need a person with sound leadership, good communication skills, able to work with the City Council and also a leader who can unite the community. The new leadership must be able to repair the relationship with the that has been fractured over the years. New economic development should be a top priority for the new administration. Douglasville’s north side must be a new-found focus."