District 71 candidate forum Feb. 21
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELLsarah@newnan.com
A candidate forum for the Georgia House District 71 runoff will be hosted by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce later this month.
The forum will be Feb. 21 at the Canongate at White Oak clubhouse, 141 Clubview Drive, Newnan. The forum starts at 7 p.m.
They were the top two vote-getters in the Feb. 5 special election to fill the seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Stover garnered 42.68 percent of the vote, with 1,166 votes. Crymes was a distant second with 545 votes, 19.95 percent.
The special election is being held because of the withdrawal of Robert Stokely, who was elected to the seat in 2012. Stokely withdrew to take a judgeship in Coweta Magistrate Court.
District 71 was represented for several years by Billy Horne, R-Sharpsburg. Horne decided not to seek reelection in 2012.
The district covers most of the eastern portion of the Coweta, as well as a slightly wider swath in the southern end of the county. The Senoia and Haralson areas are no longer in District 71, as a result of redistricting that took effect for the 2012 election.
The forum will follow a modified League of Women Voters format. Each candidate will give an opening statement, followed by questions that are asked to each candidate. Candidates will have an opportunity to rebut the answers of their opponents, and the forum will end with closing statements.
Newnan-Coweta Chamber Chairman Dean Jackson will moderate the forum.
The chamber held a forum for the original six candidates on Jan. 17. The runoff forum is a "follow-up to that forum," Jackson said. "This is, in a sense, a continuation of that."
The forum is open to the public.
Questions are being solicited from chamber members and the general public. Questions should apply to both candidates equally. Questions may be emailed to info@newnancowetachamber.org .
The original forum was held at the Wadsworth Auditorium in downtown Newnan. Jackson said the chamber wanted to hold the second forum inside the district.
He hopes for a good turnout at the forum, he said.
