Candidates forum planned for Sandpoint, Ponderay, school district races

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

Election Day is right around the corner. On Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters will decide on Sandpoint mayoral and council candidates, Ponderay mayoral and council candidates, as well as Zone 4 trustees and a permanent levy decision for Lake Pend Oreille School District No. 84.

The forum will take place Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Sandpoint Community Hall, 204 S. First Ave. Candidates from Sandpoint, Ponderay and LPOSD races have been invited to attend. This forum is a joint effort presented by Sandpoint Online, Sandpoint Reader, KRFY 88.5 FM Panhandle Community Radio and the Selkirk Association of Realtors.

To help streamline the evening, the program has been separated into sections for each race. The night will start off with the LPOSD portion of the evening from 5:30-6:10 p.m., followed by Ponderay candidates from 6:15-6:55 p.m. Sandpoint candidates will finish the evening from 7-8:00 p.m. There will be a five-minute break between races to allow for bathroom breaks. The forum will end promptly at 8 p.m.

The following candidates have been invited to attend:

— LPOSD Zone 4 trustees Geraldine Lewis (incumbent) and Tara Tribbett.

— Ponderay mayoral candidates Steve Geiger (incumbent) and Tara Tribbett, as well as city council candidates Gary Kunzeman (incumbent), Brad Mitton and Brenda Thompson (incumbent).

— Sandpoint mayoral candidates Ken Lawrence, Shelby Rognstad (incumbent) and Shannon Williamson, as well as city council candidates Andy Groat, Jacque Guinan, Kate McAlister, Shannon Mitchell and Deborah Ruehle (incumbent).

The forum is free to attend and open to all. Candidates will give an opening statement, then field questions from the audience. The audience will be encouraged to write questions for candidates on notecards, which will then be handed to moderators, who will cull through questions to eliminate any redundant or inappropriate questions.

For more information about the Nov. 5 election, visit Election Central on sandpointonline.com.