Public forum is Thursday for city council hopefuls
The public forum that will provide a venue for Sallisaw Board of City Commissioners candidates to present their case to voters will be 6:30 to about 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, at the People Inc. Conference Center, 204 S. J.T. Stites Blvd.
Your TIMES and KXMX Mix 105.1 are sponsoring the forum to engage the city’s electorate, providing an opportunity for candidates to let voters know where they stand on issues important to Sallisaw citizens.
Seeking election in Ward 2 are incumbent Josh Bailey and Steven Hatcher.
Seeking election in Ward 4 are Brad Hamilton and Jeannie Richardson.
Both seats are for three-year terms.
The public forum will be moderated by Marley Abell. Candidate names will be drawn from a hat to determine order for opening statements, questions and closing remarks.
Each candidate will have up to three minutes each for opening and closing statements. Candidates will have two minutes in which to answer a direct question from the moderator, and other candidates will then have two minutes to respond.
Organizers will monitor time and display signs for the candidates indicating the amount of time remaining. A green sign will indicate when there are 30 seconds left, a yellow sign indicates 15 seconds and a red sign with 5 seconds remaining will serve as a final warning. After the five-second warning, there will be a verbal interruption by the moderator to retake control and move on to the next question.
The number of questions during the forum will depend on the time spent on each question.
No electronic devices will be allowed for use by candidates during the forum, including, but not limited to, mobile phones, iPads/tablets, teleprompter apps, etc.
