Candidate forum set for tonight
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELLsarah@newnan.com
Candidates for Ga. House District 71 and U.S. House District 3 — and the candidates for a Coweta Superior Court judgeship — have been invited to participate in a candidate forum tonight.
The forum, which is sponsored by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce and the Coweta County Republican Party, will be held at Newnan’s Wadsworth Auditorium on Jefferson Street in downtown Newnan.
The forum starts at 6 p.m. with the panel for the Georgia House seat, followed by a brief presentation from the candidates for judge, and ending with the forum for the U.S. Congress candidates.
Local attorneys Robert Stokely and Darryl Marmon are running for the state House seat currently held by Rep. Billy Horne, R-Sharpsburg. Horne is not seeking reelection.
Emory Palmer and Kevin McMurry are both running for the seat on the Coweta Superior Court bench being vacated by Judge Allen Keeble, who is retiring.
Third District Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, a Republican who lives in Grantville, is being challenged in the Republican primary by Kent Kingsley of Milner and Chip Flanegan of Jonesboro.
The forum is not a “debate.” It will follow a modified League of Women Voters format.
Candidates will give an opening statement. They then will respond to questions from the Chamber’s membership. Questions must apply to all the candidates for a particular post. Candidates will then give closing statements.
The races for state and U.S. House will only be on the Republican primary ballot. The superior court seat is non-partisan and will be on the Republican, Democratic, and non-partisan ballots.
Also on all three ballots will be the vote on a Three Rivers region one percent sales tax to fund transportation projects, Sunday sales questions for Coweta and Grantville, and a referendum to extend council terms to four years in the town of Moreland.
Voters who choose Republican or Democratic ballots will also be asked their opinions about several issues in non-binding ballot questions.
Paper absentee ballots for the election are already available. Early in-person voting begins July 9.
The voter registration deadline is Monday.
The Wadsworth Auditorium is located at 25 Jefferson Street in downtown Newnan, in the same building as the Newnan Police Department.
