For the past 5 election cycles, now going on 10 years, the Chipley Kiwanis Club in Chipley, Florida has organized and held a series of political candidate forums, giving the opportunity for all political candidates from state, county and local races to square off against their opponents and answer the tough questions.
‘The first year we held the event in the Washington County Ag Center, and that year there were a lot of candidates, with eight candidates for Sheriff alone’, says Tracy Andrews, President Elect of the Kiwanis Club.
‘Since then we have moved the event to Pattillo’s Restaurant, on the campus of Florida Panhandle Technical College, and this is an opportunity for the public to become informed about these candidates, hearing directly “from the horses mouth”, if you will’, says Andrews, who will take office as Kiwanis President in October 2019.
‘I had the opportunity to take part in these debates when I was running for City Council a couple of years ago’, says Andrews, ‘and at that time I was not a member of the Kiwanis Club’.
‘My opponent chose not to participate, but the Kiwanians did not penalize me for my opponent’s absence, and allowed me to address the Club, answering questions from the members and the general public, and I came to appreciate their fairness and what the Club offered the community’.
Although there are Primary Elections of Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture, among others, this year, the Primary ballot is sparse on a local level this cycle in Washington County, Florida with only the half-cent sales tax referendum up for decision.
‘Typically what the Kiwanis Club has done is to hold a series of debates prior to the Primary Election and then another round prior to the General Election’, says Andrews, and regardless of their presence in the Primary, all candidates are invited to participate in both cycles, giving a couple of opportunities for the public to be engaged’.
‘We suggest that people register and vote each cycle, but we also admonish these residents to become informed voters, and these forums allow an open exchange of information, and allow the public to hear from the candidate’, Andrews finishes.
‘All too often these races become popularity contests, with non-qualified persons running for a position as a job, and it’s important that the voters have the opportunity to meet these candidates prior to visiting the ballot box’.
At this point several state candidates have accepted the offer to participate’, says Andrews, ‘and we have had almost one hundred percent participation over the past decade’.
The forums have been organized and moderated since the inception of the forum idea by Paul Goulding, a long-time Kiwanian but no longer a member of the Chipley Kiwanis Club.
‘We have asked Mr. Goulding to again work with the forums, but no decisions have been made at this point’, says Andrews, who points out that Goulding also moderated forums at T.J. Roulhac Activity Center, the Washington County Ag Center, and the Vance Theater, all in Chipley, over the past years.
‘Due to the nature of what Mr. Goulding’s business does, which is to represent business and political clients as a Public Relations firm, there have been some participants who were concerned about the potential lack of impartiality’.
‘However, every candidate, from those running for 14th Judicial Circuit Judge and Florida State Representative, to County Commissioner, Clerk of Court and Sheriff, has come away feeling that they were treated fairly and with an opportunity to profess their qualifications’, finishes Andrews.
The proposed schedule of political forums has not yet been made public due to ongoing scheduling, but Andrews says that she hopes to have that information soon, and the public is invited, as always, to attend at no charge.
