Don't miss out on your chance to grill the candidates

Frontiersman editorial board

Tuesday night, the Frontiersman will host the last of three candidate forums during this round of elections. This forum will take place at the Colony High School theater and will feature candidates for the state Legislature. The public is invited.

The first two forums, at Colony and Houston High Schools, were great successes, and we'd like to thank the candidates for taking the time to visit with us and voters during the busy campaign season. We'd also like to thank the voters who attended the forums, and who provided many tough questions for the candidates. These forums are a sign that we live in an engaged community where the relationship between elected officials and their constituents is still a personal one.

These forums are designed to give the public an opportunity to meet the candidates, and to allow the candidates to answer a series of questions pertinent to their respective races.

The format is simple, and encourages audience participation. A panel of journalists from Frontiersman will mediate the event.

Candidates will each be given three minutes to introduce themselves and give a brief explanation of their credentials, experience and positions on important issues.

Following the introductions, the panel will open the questioning with a mix of questions provided by our readers and our staff. Each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer each question. If necessary, panel members will ask follow-up questions, and the panel may also decide to give other candidates 30 seconds for rebuttal.

During that question and answer session, audience members will be able to submit additional questions on note cards. A sampling of those questions will also be posed to candidates.

The forums are intended to provide voters with an accurate assessment of candidates. We ask candidates to maintain their focus on the issues, and to steer clear of personal attacks. Some of the questions may be directly applicable to one or more specific candidates, but none of the questions will be of a personal nature.

If you wish to submit suggested questions for these forums, please e-mail them to frank.ameduri@frontiersman.com, fax them to 352-2276 or drop them by the Frontiersman at 5751 E. Mayflower Ct., off the Palmer/Wasilla Highway.