Chamber forum coming for midterm election in late October

Local and statewide candidates will have a chance to answer questions from the public for the second time this campaign season in an upcoming event sponsored by the Polk County Chamber of Commerce.

Just a couple of weeks to go before voters head to the polls, the Chamber’s Political Forum will be held in the Board of Commissioners meeting room at the Polk County Police Department on October 23 starting at 6 p.m.

Chamber Executive Director Blair Elrod said that already she has confirmation from a few state and local candidates that plan to participate, but said a full list of names of who would be taking questions wasn’t yet ready.

There’s several positions up on the ballot locally and statewide for 2018, and many more that are being decided without a vote at all.

In local commission races, District 2 will be decided as a race between Commission Chair Jennifer Hulsey on the Republican ticket, and longtime candidate Ricky Clark, who this year is running on the Democratic ticket.

Hulsey, who is seeking her second term as Commissioner, faced no challenge in the GOP primary in May. Nor did Clark on the Democratic ballot, which is a switch from his previous run as a Republican.

Additionally, this year’s vote features a District 3 special election to fill in the rest of the time left vacant by a resignation from the Commission and later filled by Hal Floyd.

Floyd chose to run unopposed this year for the full four year term in District 3 being left open by a retiring Marshelle Thaxton, and he runs this November without a challenger on the ballot.

To fill in the last years of the Floyd’s current seat, voters will have Jeri Purdy, Larry Reynolds and Ray Carter to choose from in November.

Additionally, statewide races for Governor, Lieutenant Governor and more are up for grabs this year as well.

Early voting will get underway on Oct. 15 before the forthcoming Candidate Forum.

Those candidates interested in participating can contact Elrod by e-mail at info@polkgeorgia.com. The forum is free for the general public to enjoy. A system for providing questions to candidates is in place, and cards will be handed out prior to the start of the event for those who wish to get a question answered.

Officials will pick one question if several are worded the same, and those that aren’t answered will be given to candidates afterward for written responses, published later on the Chamber’s website and in the following edition of The Polk County Standard Journal once available.

Check back for updates on the forum as information about participating candidates becomes available.