ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – Three Delta County Commissioners face a recall election on May 7. The Delta County League of Women Voters (DCLWV) is encouraging the commissioners’ constituents to get to know the candidates.
In partnership with the American Association of University Women, the league is hosting a candidate forum on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. The forum will feature District 4 Commissioner David Moyle and challenger Kelli Van Ginhoven, District 3 Commissioner Bob Barron and challenger Myra Croasdell, and District 5 Commissioner Robert Petersen and challenger Matthew Jensen.
“Our team will be on site and we’ll have a moderator,” explained DCLWV President Sue Scheeneman. “We’ll do opening and closing remarks and one-minute responses, so all the normal rules for the candidates.”
Due to the special nature of the election and the limited size of the venue, the candidate forum will be closed to the public. The public can view the livestream of the forum on Spectrum Channel 191 or the City of Escanaba YouTube channel. The forum will also be recorded and posted to the league’s website and Facebook page.
Voters are encouraged to submit questions for the candidates prior to or during the event by emailing lwv.delta.2024forum@gmail.com.
“Questions coming in will be reviewed by our screeners and, if appropriate, sent up,” Scheeneman said. “As with all of our forums, we ask as many questions as we are able. Sometimes questions don’t get asked, and that’s either due to time constraints or possibly it overlaps with a similar question. We’ll compile them together and make the best question we can to answer what they’re asking.”
Scheeneman says it is critical for voters to know the positions of the candidates in their district.
“An educated voter is a smart voter,” she said. “People really need to listen to them respond, see what words they’re choosing. What are they answering? What are they skirting around? I think you can’t just look at an R or a D. You need to look at the candidates and decide for yourself who’s the best choice.”
The Delta County League of Women Voters would like to direct voters to a free, non-partisan voter education resource. VOTE411.org provides a personalized voting guide that includes up-to-date information voters need to cast their ballots.
WZMQ 19 News will provide coverage of the candidate forum on our 11 p.m. newscast on April 23.
