Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Monticello-Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring two forums for candidates on the upcoming primary election ballot. The moderated Q&A sessions will give voters an important opportunity to meet vying candidates, hear their views, learn about their positions on issues and compare their talking points.
The first forum, for the five candidates in the non-partisan Jefferson County School Board races, will take place on Tuesday, July 26. A separate forum for the two Republican candidates vying for their party nomination for Supervisor of Elections will take place on Thursday¸ July 28. Both events start at 6 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom in the Jefferson County Courthouse, located at 1 Courthouse Circle.
District 3 School Board candidates are Brenda Bentley Wirick and Shirley Alexander Washington, while candidates in the School Board District 5 race are Charles Boland, Mags Flynt and Ruby Grantham. Washington and Boland are incumbents.
Vying for their party nomination for Supervisor of Elections are Mike Fillyaw and Michelle Milligan.
Candidates have been invited to participate in the forums, and the public is encouraged to attend to become more informed before placing their vote in August.
Chair of the forums is Ron Cichon, who has represented the Chamber in these events starting in 1976. Panelists who will be asking questions are Bob Davison and David Ward, who have served in this capacity for several forums. There also will be an opportunity for members of the public to submit questions for the candidates.
Other opportunities to become informed about candidates in the 2022 elections include reading the upcoming special section on political candidates, to be published in the Jefferson County Journal on Friday, August 5. The Chamber will also be hosting another candidates' forum prior to the general election in November.
The Jefferson County Supervisor of Elections website provides a wealth of voter information as well. At www.jeffersonvotes.com, Jefferson county residents can register to vote, check their registration status, learn their precinct information, see names of qualified candidates, request a vote-by-mail ballot and more.