Early in each election cycle, the League of Women Voters of Clallam County invites local candidates to participate in candidate forums, a type of job interview designed for candidates to explain their views and inform voters.
In each forum, the moderator asks candidates the same questions and they all have the same amount of time to respond.
We solicit these questions from the public and vet them within the league.
We don’t provide candidates with questions in advance.
We thank all candidates who participated in the following races: Department of Community Development, Clallam County Sheriff, Clallam County Commissioner Position 3 and the Public Utility District Commissioner District 1.
We unfortunately were not able to hold the Legislative District 24 State Representative Position 1 and 2 forum since Sue Forde and Brian Pruitt declined to participate.
Sue Forde indicated she had an out-of-town engagement on the day of the forum and Brian Pruitt decided not to sign our video release form, which we require from all candidates.
We believe that it’s extremely important to hear directly from candidates on issues important to us.
Our forums create a needed public space to do this.
When we can’t hold a forum because candidates aren’t available or unwilling to participate, it is a disservice to voters.
A big thank you to our league volunteers who helped make the forums possible and to our partners: the North Olympic Library System and Peninsula Area Public Access.
You can view the recorded forums at www.lwvcla.org
Nell Clausen
Sequim
EDITOR’S NOTE: Nell Clausen is the chair of the Voter Services Committee of the League of Women Voters of Clallam County.