By HEATHER RUPPE
The Walterboro-Colleton Chamber of Commerce is hosting a public forum for candidates who are seeking votes in the upcoming Colleton County Council election.
The forum is free and open to the public. It is taking place on May 17th at the Colleton County Memorial Library in Walterboro. The Democratic candidates will speak from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and the Republican candidates will speak from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Attending the forum are candidates running for the Colleton County Council elections: there are three seats up for grabs on county council, and one of these partisan seats have multiple candidates who face off in a June primary to determine the final candidates on the November ballot.
Candidates will be asked questions from a prepared list that is being submitted to the chamber by several different groups, including leaders within the chamber, the Colleton County Democratic Party and the Colleton County Republican Party.
Each candidate will have two minutes to answer each question.
“The questions were created by the Chamber of Commerce and both parties in a bipartisan effort to create a uniformed town hall approach designed to educate the electorate on issues that are most relevant to the citizens of Colleton County,” said Mark Wysong, Chamber of Commerce director.
According to Wysong, the chamber will also host a second candidate debate in October. This second debate will occur prior to the November election, giving partisan candidates the chance to address “current issues pertaining to the county,” he said.
The candidates for the Colleton County Council elections are:
At-Large Seat, Colleton County Council:
Maryann Blake (Democrat)
Hiram EM Davis (Democrat)
David Gar Linder (Democrat)
Terri Tomedolskey (Republican)
Bubba Trippe (Republican)
Josh Westburn (Republican)
Kevin Williams (Republican)
District 23, Colleton County Council
Scott Biering (Republican)
Art Williams (Democrat)
District 45, Colleton County Council
Steven D. Murdaugh (Republican)
