Candidates running for the Sedgwick County Commission are expected to participate in a free, non-partisan forum Saturday afternoon.
The Wichita chapter of Women for Kansas invited the four candidates in the commission’s 2nd District and 3rd District races to explain their positions on various community issues.
The forum will take place at the Central Library in downtown Wichita from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Lisa Vayda of Women for Kansas says topics will include budgets and public health.
"We’re also going to be looking at the city versus county and that relationship of city versus county," Vayda says. "And then we are going to ask each candidate to list their strengths and weaknesses that they have to address these issues."
The race for the 2nd District is between current Commissioner Tim Norton, a Democrat, and Republican former State Sen. Michael O’Donnell.
In the 3rd District, the race is between Republican David Dennis and independent Marcey Gregory, the current mayor of Goddard.
Vayda says they’re holding a forum instead of a debate for the commission candidates.
"We don’t want people attacking characters," she says. "We want them to actually give us their opinions on the issues."
Women for Kansas is a non-partisan group that began a grassroots statewide initiative in 2013 to inform and educate voters. The organization held forums recently that included the Kansas Supreme Court justices, former Kansas governors, and candidates in Kansas Senate and Kansas House races.
--
Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar.
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
