On Tuesday, July 28, 2020, the Chipley, Florida Kiwanis Club held the second of two political forums, this time between candidates for the offices of Washington County Clerk of Court, School Board Member District 2 and County Commission District 1.
These Kiwanis-sponsored debates have been held every two years for the past dozen years in Pattillo’s Restaurant on the campus of Florida Panhandle Technical College prior to the Primary and General Elections, and have enjoyed participation by all candidates, along with a wide viewership online, in social media and other news sources.
Scheduled from Noon to 2PM on Tuesday, the debates featured an open forum, moderated by Kiwanis President Tracy Andrews, allowing aspirants for the offices to answer questions posed by the public and the club membership, and the public submitted questions as well.
The 2-hour segment featured three 30-minute forums between candidates in each of the six political races, and due to CDC regulations and Florida State recommendations of social distancing, there was not a large live audience.
The forums were taped for broadcast on social media, and will as well be made available to news gatherers, broadcast media and print newspapers for re-broadcast, in order for the public to be able to view the proceedings and ‘virtually’ attend the meeting.
In the past, these Kiwanis Club Forums have enjoyed one hundred percent participation, but for any race in which one or more candidates chose not to participate, the candidate who did participate was afforded the opportunity to answer the questions.
On Tuesday, July 14, 2020, the Supervisor of Elections race featured Corey Odom but her opponents Carol Rudd and Chris Hyatt did not participate.
The Superintendent of Schools race on July 14 included Joe Taylor and Martha Compton, and the Washington County Commission District 5 race featured Steve Joyner and Lynn Gothard.
Each candidate was given one minute to introduce themselves at the beginning of their respective session, and then questions were posed to each candidate in that race, alternating first to answer with each successive question.
Answers to each question were limited to one minute, and there was an official timekeeper, representing the Kiwanis Club. At the end of each session, each candidate was also given one minute to wrap up their presentation and express any final thoughts.
Candidates for Washington County School Board District 2 feature Lou Cleveland and Jerry Harrell; while the Washington County Commissioner District 1 featured incumbent Alan Bush but his opponent Travis Hall did not show up.
Washington County Clerk of Court Lora Bell fielded questions from the audience while her opponent Stephanie Blankenship made an appearance via phone conference.
For more information, please contact Tracy Andrews, President of Chipley Kiwanis Club, at tlandrews1@gmail.com or call 850-326-9359.
