Candidate Forums Offer Sarasota, Manatee Voters a Chance to Hear From Contenders
Image: Barbara Banks
Voters across the Suncoast region will have several chances in the coming days to hear directly from candidates seeking to represent them in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C.
Local chapters of the League of Women Voters are hosting a series of nonpartisan candidate forums ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
Suncoast Searchlight is partnering with the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County on its slate of forums, while League chapters in Manatee County and St. Petersburg are organizing additional events.
The forums come as voters prepare to decide races at nearly every level of government, from Congress and the Florida Legislature to city commissions and school boards. League forums generally give candidates equal time to answer the same questions and are designed to allow voters to hear from them outside of campaign advertising and other partisan messaging.
Here’s what’s coming up.
U.S. House District 16 — Wednesday, Sept. 23
The League of Women Voters of Manatee County and League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area will host a virtual forum from noon to 1 p.m. Sept. 23 for candidates seeking to represent Florida’s 16th Congressional District.
Republican Sydney Gruters, Democrat Kelly Kirschner and no-party-affiliation candidate Mark Davis are scheduled to participate.
The district was significantly reshaped through redistricting and now includes southern Pinellas County, all of Manatee, DeSoto and Hardee counties and part of Sarasota County.
Veteran journalist Trevor Pettiford will moderate the Zoom forum. Registration is required. Register here.
More Sarasota and Manatee County Forums
The local leagues also have a slate of forums planned for county commission, school board and municipal races in Sarasota and Manatee counties.
In Manatee County, upcoming forums include Bradenton City Council Wards 3 and 4 on Sept. 22; School Board District 2 on Sept. 23; and School Board District 5 on Oct. 7. The forums will be held via Zoom. See the full schedule here.
In Sarasota County, the League of Women Voters and Suncoast Searchlight will host forums for Sarasota City Commission candidates on Oct. 7, North Port City Commission candidates on Oct. 15 and Venice City Council candidates on Oct. 23. The forums will be held via Zoom. See the full schedule here.
This story was produced by Suncoast Searchlight, a nonprofit newsroom of the Community News Collaborative serving Sarasota, Manatee, and Desoto counties.
