If you want to hear what candidates running in the Nov. 19 election have to say, you’ll have a chance on Saturday, when a public forum will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. at Rotacrest Hall.
The forum was encouraged by the lack of a question-and-answer portion during the Creston Valley Chamber of Commerce’s meet-and-greet on Nov. 1.
“Once we did find out there would be no question and answer portion, we were not happy with it,” said Tamara Fox, one of the forum’s organizers. “We felt that people speaking for three minutes was not going to help us decide who to vote for.”
The forum started off as one for just Creston’s 13 town council and two mayor candidates — the majority of whom are attending — but was opened up to include Regional District of Central Kootenay Area B candidates John Kettle and Ed McNiven; the latter has confirmed he will be attending.
The discussion has already gotten underway with a Facebook group (“Creston Town Council Forums”) set up to allow all candidates a chance to be heard online. Organizers of the forum have created a list of questions they would like to have candidates answer, dealing with diverse subjects from sustainable agriculture to downtown beautification to arts and culture.
Questions that aren’t on the list will be welcome, too, as the forum will include both pre-selected questions and impromptu questions from the audience. Any questions that aren’t asked in the allotted time will be posted online following the forum, allowing for additional discussion that will help voters to make an informed decision.
“It’s about getting people involved and making things transparent,” said Fox.
By making sure voters have as much information as possible, Fox hopes Creston will keep on the right track while she’s out of town next year to further her education.
“I love Creston,” she said. “I love seeing the way it’s evolved over the past couple of years I’ve been here. I’m concerned that after I go away to school, I’ll come back and it will look like Cranbrook.”