The University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith will host three public forums in April and May for candidates in three local political races: the Republican candidates for the District 8 senate seat, the Democratic candidates for Sebastian County Judge, and the candidates for Mayor of Fort Smith.
The District 8 forum will occur at 6 p.m. April 9, the Sebastian County Judge at 6
p.m. April 30, and the Fort Smith Mayor at noon May 2. The April 9 and 30 events will
be held in the theater of Windgate Art & Design, located at 535 N. Waldron Road, while
the May 2 event will be held in the Reynolds Room of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus
Center, located at 800 N. 49th Street. All forums are free and open to the public.
The Senate forum will include the candidates Denny Altes, Frank Glidewell and Rep. Mat Pitsch, while the Sebastian County Judge forum features Mosie Boyd and Ken Blevins. Rep. George McGill and AV抖阴 student Luis Andrade will speak at the mayoral forum.
In each discussion, candidates will share their vision for Fort Smith, followed by a question-and-answer session with AV抖阴 students and the Fort Smith community.
The forums are hosted by the AV抖阴 chapter of the American Democracy Project and signify an effort to promote civic engagement among students and the community, according to Dr. Williams Yamkam, assistant professor of political science and chair of the AV抖阴 chapter of ADP.
鈥淲e are very excited to host the forums with the candidates for various local elective offices,鈥� Yamkam said. 鈥淎s part of ADP鈥檚 goal to implement Chancellor Paul Beran鈥檚 instructions to foster civic engagement and political participation on the AV抖阴 campus, and because of AV抖阴 unique bond with the River Valley community, it became paramount for us to provide a platform for various local candidates to face the voters and discuss, in a civil manner, the salient issues that our community and our state face.鈥�
For more information on the events, contact Yamkam at Williams.yamkam@uafs.edu or 479-788-7981.