Press Town Hall Forums begin Monday

Four days of Coeur d'Alene Press 2020 Election Town Hall Forums begin at 5 p.m. Monday.

Candidates in four races will answer reader-submitted questions that have been collected for the past two weeks. The candidates have not been provided with the questions in advance. The questions are timely, relevant to each political race and will relate to candidates’ stated platforms.

The forums are being held to give community members detailed information about where each candidate stands, before they cast their votes. In Kootenai County, more than 37,000 absentee ballots are starting to be mailed out today. Election Day is Nov. 3.

“We want to provide as much face time with members of the electorate as possible so they decide smartly when they choose who will represent them,” Press publisher Clint Schroeder said Thursday.

The question order will be determined at 4:30 p.m. the day of each forum. A coin toss will decide first position on each question and a consistent order to follow the leader on each question. Each candidate will be given a chance to answer one question in the first position.

These question-and-answer forums are not debates. Candidates will not be given time for rebuttals. They will be expected to answer questions directly and speak with facts about themselves and their own platforms, not their opponents.

“Time is being strictly managed,” Schroeder reminds the candidates. “Use it wisely.”

Forums will end at 7 p.m. Each will be streamed live on Facebook as well as recorded and available in the “Meet the Candidates” section of www.cdapress.com the following day.

The schedule for The Coeur d'Alene Press 2020 Election Town Hall Forums is as follows:

Monday

Town Hall Forum No. 1

Idaho State House of Representatives, 5 p.m. — four candidates, three races

Doug Okuniewicz, Idaho State House District 2, Seat B

Chris Matthews, Idaho State House District 3, Seat A

Ron Mendive, Idaho State House District 3, Seat A

Teresa Borrenpohl, Idaho State House District 3, Seat B

Tuesday

Town Hall Forum No. 2

Idaho State Senate District 4, 5 p.m. — two candidates, one race

Mary Souza

Shari Williams

North Idaho College Trustees, 5:50 p.m. — two candidates, two races

Joe Dunlap, NIC Trustee Zone 4

Paul Strum, NIC Trustee, Zone 5

Wednesday

Town Hall Forum No. 3

Kootenai County Sheriff, 5 p.m. — three candidates, one race

Bob Norris

Justin Nagel

Mike Bauer

Thursday

Town Hall Forum No. 4

U.S. Congress District 1, 5 p.m. — three candidates, one race

Joe Evans

Rudy Soto

Russ Fulcher

U.S. Senate Idaho, 6:08 p.m. — two candidates, one race

Paulette Jordan

Natalie Fleming