By Earl Jones
On Thursday, October 24, 2024, there will be a forum for the Alliance City Council candidates. The forum will run from 3:00-5:00 p.m. in the theater at the Knight Museum and Sandhills Center. Members of the public are welcome to attend and to submit questions for the candidates.
Since there are candidates running for both the two- and four-year terms, the forum will be held in two parts. At 3:00 p.m. will be the candidates running for the two-year term, with one person to be elected on November 5. Candidates are Chuck Frisch, Brenda Bishop, Jay Weisgerber, and Russell Saito. When that concludes, the candidates for the four-year terms will be questioned. Two of these people will be elected to City Council: Randall Hitchcock, Tamara Wood, John McGhehey, and Travis Turman.
Each candidate will have three minutes to introduce themselves, and will be encouraged to talk about their careers and their previous community activities. Then they will have two minutes to answer each question. All candidates will answer all questions in turn. Questions from the audience will be submitted to a panel for screening before being submitted to the moderator, former Mayor Earl Jones. There will be no questions regarding specific City personnel or issues that would not be controlled by City Council. However, candidates may be asked about facilities, departments, hours of operation, staffing, taxation, and spending.
The City Council Forum is not being organized by the City of Alliance. Individuals concerned about the City have stepped forward to plan this event. For those who cannot attend in person, the forum will be covered by Panhandle Post and The Alliance Times-Herald.