North Bryan residents will have the opportunity to hear from those who will be on the November ballot Tuesday when the North Bryan Chamber of Commerce will host a political forum.
Event organizer Angela Reed said all statewide and local candidates that North Bryan residents will see on the ballot have been invited to the forum at the J. Dixie Harn Community Center. Networking starts at 6:30 p.m. and the forum begins at 7 p.m. Packets with information about each candidate will also be available.
“The chamber is involved with all businesses in North Bryan and we wanted to be helpful in making sure that all voters had a chance to know the candidates and what their platform is about,” Reed said.
Invited to the forum are contested candidates, including Bryan County Commissioner Joe Kendrick, Noah Covington and Ed Bacon for the District 1 county commissioner race; state Rep. Jan Tankersley, R-Brooklet, and challenger Marc Silver; U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, and challenger Lesli Rae Messinger; State Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, and challenger Lauren Craddock.
All candidates running with opposition will be given three to five minutes to speak about themselves and their platform. Reed said the event is not meant to be a debate.
“All candidates have been advised that this is strictly about their own platform,” Reed said. It’s not a debate — it’s more of an informative meeting for the community.”
Other candidates in unopposed races, including Board of Education member Dennis Seger, Board of Education Vice Chair Candidate Joe Pecenka, County Commission Chairman Jimmy Burnsed, state Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, State Rep. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, Probate Judge Sam Davis, Clerk of Court Becky Crowe, Tax Commissioner Caroll Ann Coleman, Coroner Bill Cox and Sheriff Clyde Smith, have also been invited to introduce themselves to voters.
Reed said she is hopeful the event will be informative for the community.
“We hope that people will be more informed about each candidate and we also hope that it will raise awareness because we do have such a low turnout for voting, that maybe this will make people want to come and vote,” she said.
While some have confirmed attendance, Reed said all candidates have until Friday to RSVP.
“We really hope for a good turnout, and there will be seating for many,” she said.
For more information about the forum, contact Reed at 429-9019.