The League of Women Voters is sponsoring two Candidate Forums to help citizens make informed choices on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, September 14, or when voting early beginning September 3.
The first Forum is for Primary Candidates for the Maryland General Assembly from the 36th District. It will be held on Tuesday evening, August 17, and is co-sponsored by the Kent and Queen Anne’s Leagues of Women Voters.
The second Forum, for Primary Candidates for the Queen Anne’s County Board of Commissioners, will take place on Thursday evening, August 19, and is sponsored by the Queen Anne’s County League.
Both forums will be held at the Board of Education Building at 202 Chesterfield Avenue in Centreville. Each forum will begin at 6 p.m. and be presented in two parts. The first half will be for Democratic candidates; the second half for the Republican candidates will begin at 7:15 for the General Assembly Forum and 7:30 for the Queen Anne’s County Commissioners Forum. These forums are free and open to the public, and citizens are invited to attend an entire forum or for just one party.
All candidates in the Primaries are participating. Both forums will begin with each candidate introducing him or herself. The introductions will be followed by questions from audience. At the end, each candidate will be given time for a closing statement. No electioneering will be permitted inside the Board of Education Building; no campaign paraphernalia, including buttons, signs, or literature will be allowed inside.
Forum for the 36th District General Assembly Primary Candidates
The 36th District is comprised of all of Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties, and part of Caroline County. It is represented in the Maryland General Assembly by three Delegates and one Senator. Each delegate must be from a different county and, regardless of a voter’s county of residence, a voter chooses three delegates from three separate counties.
The August 17th General Assembly Forum will begin at 6 p.m. with the Democratic Primary candidates. There are two candidates running for State Senator, Robert Alt and Steven Munford. For the three seats in the House of Delegates, there are only two Democratic candidates, Arthur Hock from Kent County and William Manlove from Cecil County. There is no Democratic candidate from Queen Anne’s County.
On the Republican side at 7:15, there are two candidates running in the Primary for State Senator, incumbent E.J. Pipkin and Donald Alcorn. Also participating will be the four Republican candidates running in the House of Delegates race: Jay Jacobs, who is unopposed for the Kent County seat; Michael Smigiel, who is unopposed for the Cecil County seat; and incumbent Richard Sossi, who is opposed by Stephen Hershey for the Queen Anne’s County seat.
Forum for QAC County Commissioner Primary Candidates
There are four Commissioner Districts in Queen Anne’s County and a fifth Commissioner serves at large. Each voter, regardless of his or her district of residence, votes for five Commissioners, one from each District and one At Large. County Commissioners are elected for a four year term and the At Large Commissioner serves as President of the Board of Commissioners for the first year.
The Democratic Primary candidates will start off at 6:00 on August 19. Neal Jackson is unopposed for the At Large seat; Howard Dean and Joe Gannon are opposed in District 1; Paul Gunther is unopposed in District 2; Winn Krozack and Arlene Taylor are opposed in District 3; and Jack Broderick is unopposed in District 4.
At 7:30, the Republican Primary Candidates for County Commissioner will introduce themselves and answer audience questions. They are: Steven Arentz, Robert Foley and Frank Frohn who are all running for the At Large seat; David Dunmyer and Robert Mansfield who are opposed in District 1; Bob Simmons and Richard Smith who are opposed in District 2; Phil Dumenil and Dave Olds who are unopposed in Districts 3 and 4, respectively.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization committed to encouraging the active and informed participation of citizens in government. An informed citizenry is the cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Membership is open to citizens age 18 or over, female or male. For information, call Mary Campbell, 410.758.3071.