Key West The Newspaper

HOMETOWN! is pleased to announce its Fifth Event of the 2016 political season

A QUESTION AND ANSWER FORUM FOR
CERTAIN CANDIDATES ON THE NOVEMBER 8, GENERAL ELECTION BALLOT

The Studios of Key West, 533 Eaton Street, Key West, Florida
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016, FROM 5:00 – 7:30 PM

Hometown’s First Question and Answer Forum for candidates on the November 8, General Election Ballot is approximately six weeks before the Election and shortly before ballots will be mailed to voters. Key west and Monroe County voters will have to make final judgments regarding Mosquito Control Board members, Districts 1 and 4, State Senator, Public Defender, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, and the Mayor of Key West.

Hometown will hold a final forum for General Election Ballot candidates on Monday, October 17, also at TSKW. Further information about the forum will be announced next week.

The panelists for the September 26, Forum will be Bryan Green, Chair HARC, Director-Governing Board Lower Keys Medical center and Treasurer-Monroe County Education Foundation; Jennifer Hulse Russo-Business Attorney, Key West Citizen Editorial Board; Gwen Filosa, Reporter, Keynoter newspaper; and Bill Becker, popular newscaster of US1 Radio, 104.1 FM and moderator of the highly-rated Morning Magazine program.

For further and much more complete information on all voting matters, please call the Supervisor of Elections at 305-292-3416 or visit the office at 530 Whitehead, Suite 101, Key West.

Doors open at the TSKW at 5:00 p.m. Voters will have 30 minutes to have some free hors d’oeuvres, frequent the cash bar, and meet and talk to the candidates.

The candidates and races featured at this forum are listed below: Please note that this is not the order in which the candidates will be called to the stage. Hometown will not announce the candidates’ order of being called to the stage until that night–changes in candidates’ schedules, and other matters require that flexibility in scheduling. All candidates should be at TSKW at 5:30 pm, ready to go. The fireworks begin at 5:30 p.m. for what is predicted to be a fast-paced question and answer Forum set before voters interested in good government!

Mosquito Control Board

1) District 1–3 candidates: Jill Cranney-Gage (Rep.) (Incumbent) -Oliver Kofoid (Green Party) and Kathryn Watkins (Dem.)

2) District 4: Stanley Zuba (Dem.) vs. Janet Wood (Rep.) (Incumbent is not running for re-election)

3) State Senator

Anitere Flores (Rep.) vs. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (Dem.) and Brent Artz (WRI) (There is no Incumbent.)

4) Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller

Ron Saunders (Dem) vs.Kevin Madok (Rep.)

5) Public Defender

Patricia Docherty Gibson (Dem.) vs. Robert Ryan Lockwood (Rep.). (The Incumbent is not running for re-election.)

6) Mayor of Key West

Sloan Bashinsky, write-in candidate will be afforded an opportunity to speak to the voters.

Hometown’s objective is to encourage qualified residents to run for elected office, to provide a platform for the candidates to explain their goals, and to encourage higher levels of voter participation in the election. Membership in Hometown! for the 2016 year is $40 for individuals ($55 for households), and gives Key West and Monroe County residents and property owners a voice in how their city and county elections. Be a Friend of Hometown for $100, a Benefactor for $500 and a Political Maven Member for $1,000. HOMETOWN IS A 501(C) (3) CORPORATION AND MEMBERSHIP PAYMENTS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

If any declared candidate has questions about the event, please call Hometown Board Member and Corporate Secretary Sheldon Davidson at 305-295-3560 or email him at [email protected]

UNABLE TO ATTEND?

For those who can not attend this Q. and A. General Election Forum, FloridaKeys.com will be recoding the event. The event will be streamed live on Hometown’s YouTube channel. You can watch the live event by going to www.hometownkeywest.com (Home page) and clicking on the LIVE ONLINE icon. The recording will remain on the YouTube channel for those who cannot watch live. The YouTube video will remain available on the same YouTube channel throughout the campaign season.

For a full list of all known candidates and their pictures as well as other campaign information regarding registration and videos of prior Hometown events, visit our website www.hometownkeywest.com. You’ll find direct links to YouTube, all of the other items and much more.

JOIN HOMETOWN

There is no charge to attend this forum. We hope, however, that you will join the majority of those interested in good government and our local elections and join Hometown in 2016. Membership in HOMETOWN! is on a calendar year basis.

To join, please visit our www.hometownkeywest.com. Then click on the “JOIN HOMETOWN” Icon at the top of the Homepage. By doing that, you can use your credit card through PayPal.