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The Candidates' Forum: IntroductionWeek 10...Thank You! Week 10....Thank You!This issue, the tenth of The Candidates' Forum, is this campaign season's finale. I hope that the paper has been a valuable resource as you have prepared for Election Day. Residents of Asheville go to the polls on Tuesday, November 6th, to elect a new Mayor and three Council members. I encourage everyone to bring a friend or two to the polls, so we set a new precedent for voter participation. Local businesses and organizations have provided the funding for this project. The intention was to provide a venue for all the candidates--on an equal footing--to share their views and plans for Asheville, and to provide voters in the community with the information that they need to make informed choices on Election Day. I ask you to personally thank the advertisers for their support-for without them, this service would not have been available to the community. Nor would this paper have been a reality if the candidates had not agreed to participate. I'd like to thank all the candidates for caring enough to prepare material every week for this publication-and for doing so while continuing with personal, family, business, professional and community responsibilities. Your dedication is inspiring! And there were the people whose work behind the scenes was critical to The Candidates' Forum. Mark Goldstein with the Fund for Investigative Reporting and Editing sponsored and updated the on-line version of this publication. The Asheville Global Report provided access to production facilities. The staff at the IWANNA had the paper ready for me each week an hour-and-a-half after I dropped off the flats. Kitty Brown designed the front-page graphic for the first seven issues, and then created the "Vote Asheville" theme that guided the remaining cover designs. And Sharon Martin masterfully facilitated the creative design of The Candidates' Forum from start to finish. I also thank all the businesses that helped with the distribution of all ten issues-and the team of folks that went door-to-door and business-to-business helping The Candidates' Forum reach the community: Stephen Warren, Deborah McKenna, Rebecca Campbell, Lynn Johnson, Jim Brown and others. In addition, I thank the teachers at Asheville High School, Asheville Middle School, and Carolina Day School who engaged their students in the study of local government and utilized The Candidates' Forum in their lessons. I'm grateful for the success of the first edition of The Candidates' Forum, and I look forward to the next campaign season. Until then… Vote, Asheville! Message for Week 8The Candidates' Forum is sponsored by local businesses and organizations and published with the intents to provide a venue for all Asheville City Council candidates to share their views and plans for Asheville and to ensure that our residents have the information that they need to make informed voting choices. Voters will be going to the polls on Tuesday, November 6th, to elect a new mayor and three Council members. With the selection of Brian Peterson and Charlie Worley as the
mayoral candidates-both of whom are mid-term-the new Council will
be responsible for filling this vacated seat after the winner is
sworn in as Mayor. According to the Board of Elections, Council
may select anyone from the pool of registered voters. Each candidate has equal space within the pages of The Candidates' Forum to focus on specific issues, general topics, campaign news, readers' questions or any other topics that they choose. The views expressed are not necessarily shared by the sponsoring businesses and organizations or the paper's publisher. Lively On-Line Community DiscussionMountain Area Information Network is sponsoring an on-line discussion forum focused on this election. Participants are offering their assessments of candidates, comments about live forums, and posing questions regarding voter turnout, the appointed fifth seat, and other issues. Join the discussion at www.main.nc.us/avlforum. Mobilize Asheville VotersThree out of four Asheville voters chose not to participate in the October 9th Primary Election. Folks throughout the community are determined to empower our neighbors with information and get more people to the polls.You can help in this effort by going door-to-door with The Candidates' Forum and distributing the paper to neighborhood businesses, social groups, religious organizations, schools and others. Call or e-mail Adam Baylus at 251-1782 or adam@main.nc.us to make arrangements to get extra copies of The Candidates' Forum. Thanks for your help! Special Message from the Editor for Week 7Issue # 7 is the debut of a slightly new format of The Candidates' Forum following the Primary Election on Tuesday, October 9th. The new features are:
Due to the lateness of the election results, the candidates' campaign
and work schedules, and the production schedule of The Candidates'
Forum, some of the candidates chose not to participate in all aspects
of this issue. The Appointed Fifth Seat Brian Peterson and Charlie Worley, two Council Members who are
midway through their four-year terms, are the only candidates for
Mayor. Therefore, when the winner is sworn in as Mayor, the new
Council will then be responsible for filling his vacated Council
seat. Readers' Questions for Issues 7, 8, 9 & 10 After the Primary, the next four editions of The Candidates Forum
will have the added feature of a question and answer section. Readers
are asked to call in questions to Adam Baylus at 251-1782 or e-mail
adam@main.nc.us. All questions
will be forwarded to the candidates, who will choose which questions-or
questions-to respond. Your Support is Needed and Welcomed Local businesses and organizations provide the funding for this
publication, and no money is received from the candidates. Each
candidate has equal space to focus on specific issues, general topics,
campaign news, readers' questions or any other topic that they choose. Vote on November 6! IntroductionThe Candidates' Forum is a weekly newspaper sponsored by local businesses and organizations. The purpose is to provide the twenty-five candidates running for Asheville City Council an opportunity to share their views and plans for our community and to provide our residents with the information that they need to make their voting choices in October and November. Four of the seven seats on City Council are available--the Mayor's seat and three Council member seats. The Candidates' Forum will be published every Friday for ten weeks leading up to the General Election. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, October 9th. The General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 6th. The Primary will reduce the field to two candidates for mayor and six for the three council seats. This publication is funded by the community and without candidates'
campaign funds. Each candidate has equal space, and all copy submitted
by the candidates is published without editing. All candidates agreed
to focus on their plans and to avoid criticism of individuals. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily shared
by the sponsoring organizations or the publisher. View Results of the October 9 Primary This Week's Forum: Week 10
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