During the week of October 13, The League of Women Voters will be holding candidate forums for the Maryland General Assembly (District 36), for the Queen Anne’s County Board of County Commissioners, and for the United States House of Representatives from Maryland’s First Congressional District. These forums provide voters the opportunity to see, hear, and question candidates. All candidate forums are free and open to the public.
The candidate forum for the Maryland General Assembly from District 36 will take place on Tuesday, October 14 at the Queen Anne’s County Board of Education Building, 202 Chesterfield Av. in Centreville. It will be held jointly by the Queen Anne’s County, the Kent County, and the MidShore Leagues of Women Voters. The two candidates for the Maryland State Senate, Benjamin Tilghman (D) and incumbent Steven Hershey (R), will introduce themselves and answer audience questions from 6:30 until 7:30 pm.
At 7:30, candidates for the House of Delegates will present themselves and answer audience questions. All voters choose three delegates to the House of Delegates, and three of the four counties making up the 36th District (Queen Anne’s, Caroline, Kent and Cecil) must be represented. Participants in the House of Delegates forum will be the two opposing candidates from Queen Anne’s County, Irving Pinder (D) and Steve Arentz (R), and the two opposing candidates from Caroline County, Robert Thornton, Jr. (D) and Jeff Ghrist (R). As a result of the Primary, no candidate for the 36th District from Cecil County will be on the ballot. The Republican candidate from Kent County who is on the ballot, Jay Jacobs, has no opposition and will not participate in the forum. League rules do not allow candidates without opposition to take part in forums.
On Thursday, October 16 at 7 pm, the Queen Anne’s County League of Women Voters will hold a forum for the QAC Board of County Commissioners. Participating will be the two candidates for the At-large seat, Suzanne Hogan (D) and Jim Moran (R), and the two candidates from District 2, Fred McNeil (D) and Steve Wilson (R). The four participating candidates will introduce themselves, answer audience questions, and have a brief time for an individual wrap-up. This forum will be held at the Queen Anne’s County Board of Education, 202 Chesterfield Ave., in Centreville.
The prevailing Commissioner candidate in the Primary for District 3, Robert Buckey (R), and write-in candidate Philip Dumenil (R) were invited to participate in this forum. Mr. Buckey declined the League’s invitations to attend, and although Mr. Dumenil accepted, the rules of the League of Women Voters, as noted above, do not allow just one candidate for an office take part in debates or forums without an opponent present, since an unopposed appearance by a candidate could be construed as a campaign event for that candidate. Consistent with this League rule, the Commissioner candidates for District 1, Paul Comfort (R), and District 4, Mark Anderson (R), who have no opposition, were not invited to participate in the forum.
The two candidates for the United States House of Representatives will appear at a forum on Sunday, October 19, hosted by the Queen Anne’s County, the Kent County, and the MidShore Leagues of Women Voters at the Cadby Theater at Chesapeake College, 1000 College Circle, in Wye Mills. The forum will begin at 4 pm. Participating will be Bill Tilghman (D) and incumbent Andy Harris (R). The candidates will introduce themselves, answer questions from the Leagues and then from the audience. They will then have a brief time for a wrap-up.
No electioneering will be permitted inside the buildings where the forums are held; no campaign paraphernalia, including buttons, tee shirts, signs and literature, will be allowed inside. Signs may be posted outside the buildings.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization committed to encouraging the active and informed participation of citizens in government. Membership is open to citizens age 18 or over, men as well as women.
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