Macon-Bibb County mayoral candidates to answer questions in a virtual forum. Here’s how you can watch:
Local voters will have an opportunity to hear the candidates for Macon-Bibb County mayor answer community members’ questions at an upcoming forum.
Georgia Women (And Those Who Stand With Us), the League of Women Voters Macon and The Macon Chapter of The Links, Inc. are hosting a virtual mayoral forum with all five candidates to discuss issues concerning the Macon community.
“It’s just vitally important that we hear from the candidates, one of which will lead our city for the next four years, and we need to be able to make an informed choice about what the future of Macon looks like,” said Claire Cox, president of Georgia Women.
The forum will take place on May 11 at 7-9 p.m. over a Zoom meeting that will be live streamed to Georgia Women’s Facebook page and shared to the other sponsor pages and media outlets.
The candidates will answer five questions that the sponsors created, and then questions from the audience. To submit questions, email them to middlegavotes@gmail.com.
Lori Johnson, a political science professor at Mercer University, will moderate the forum and ask each candidate the same questions to ensure fairness, Cox said. Each candidate will also give opening and closing statements.
“By providing a venue for citizens to hear candidates discuss their priorities and proposed solutions, we can assist in being a vehicle for an informed, engaged electorate,” said The Links Inc. President Sylvia McGee, in a news release.
Organizers planned to hold the forum at the Douglass Theatre, but the coronavirus pandemic caused the original forum to be canceled. The organizing groups decided to hold the forum virtually in order for voters to hear candidates respond to community issues, Cox said.
“This forum is an opportunity to hear the positions of the candidates for mayor of Macon-Bibb, so that each voter can make an informed decision on the candidates and participate in our democracy,” said Mary Lou Ezell, president of the League of Women Voters Macon, in the release.