Politics & Government
Candidate Forum at Bell Shoals Baptist Church Tonight (July 12)
Candidates for local, state and national offices will be in attendance tonight, July 12, at the Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon. This year's forum is dedicated to the memory of James W. Pope, who taught history at Greco Middle School.
Candidates for local, state and national offices will be on hand tonight, July 12, at the Bell Shoals Baptist Church Worship Center to present their positions to Greater Brandon area residents.
According to church member Jeff Lukens, who is organizing the forum, 45 candidates have confirmed their intentions to be at the forum. The church is at 2102 Bell Shoals Road in Brandon.
"We'll have candidates from all parties for school board, judicial posts, county commission, the Florida House and Senate and U.S. Congress represented at the event,” Lukens said in a notice for the event. "We're expecting up to 1,000 people in the community to come out and hear what the candidates have to say."
Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Starting in 1984, and in an effort to educate voters to make informed decisions, Bell Shoals Baptist Church has been offering candidate forums. Lukens said the forum is designed to allow the audience to compare candidates vying for office. All the candidates have been asked to fill out a questionnaire and their answers will be available online as well as for those in attendance.
In addition, each candidate will be allowed two minutes to speak to the audience about issues important to his or her campaign.
Find out what's happening in Brandonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
This year’s forum is dedicated to the memory of James W. Pope, the former chairman of the church’s Community Issues Team. Pope, who was forum coordinator and a United States history teacher at Greco Middle School, died in a car accident in October 2010. He was 33.
Tonight’s forum starts at 7 p.m.
At 5 p.m., in the church’s Welcome Hall, the candidates have been invited to set up tables with campaign literature and to meet with voters.
"This will give the candidates a chance to interact with voters one- on-one before the forum begins,” Lukens said.
"Drive Time with Bill Bunkley" (WTBN-AM 570 and 910) will broadcast from the Welcome Hall from 4 to 6 p.m. Later, Bunkley will host the forum.
For more information, email 2012CandidateForum@bellshoals.com or visit the forum's Facebook site.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
