Candidate forum coming at the end of September

Polk County is back in an off-year election cycle for municipal seats, and the changes in leadership on the first Tuesday in November will affect the social and economical state of Polk County as a whole over the coming years.

With various commission, council and a school board seat open locally, candidates with specific ideas and goals for the county are already campaigning for the chance to represent their city.

School Board District 6 has a trio of competitors looking to oversee the education of local youth as well, and all the candidates will soon get a chance to share their platforms with voters across the area.

The Polk County Chamber of Commerce is giving Polk’s candidates a podium to share their ideals and positions on various topics with a candidates forum on Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Polk County Commission meeting room at 73 Clines Ingram Jackson Road in Cedartown.

The forum is open to the public, and anyone who wishes to gain a better understanding of the county and school board’s potential representatives are urged to attend.

Questions will be submitted by the audience and chosen by moderators to be asked of candidates during the forum.

Candidates will be given 60 seconds to answer each question to allow for as many questions to be asked in the time allotted for each election.

Campaigners that received an invitation are likely to be present at the forum. The full list of candidates include:

Cedartown: Jessica Payton, Matt Foster, Jordan Hubbard, and Patrick McNalley.

Rockmart ( incumbents:) Sherman Ross, Lucille Harris, and Joe Henderson.

Aragon: Judson Fee and Amy Causey. Any additional candidates who signed up to be a council member during the re-opening of qualifying on Monday will also be invited as well.

School Board District 6: Judy Wiggins, Chris Culver, and Carolyn Williams.

Locally commissioners, council members and school board members serve 4 year terms before they face new elections, unless they are elected in a special election, and then will have to run again to keep the seat when it comes back up for the regular election cycle.