NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce will host two public, moderated candidate forums for upcoming Natchitoches Parish elections. The public and regional media are invited to attend.  The forums will be live streamed at NatchitochesChamber.com/livestream.

 

On Wednesday, September 25, the Chamber will host a Sheriff’s candidate forum. On Thursday, September 26, the Chamber will host a Parish Office candidate forum, with the candidates running for Parish Council and Parish President. Both forums will take place at Northwestern State University’s Creative and Performing Arts Annex, in Magale Recital Hall, 143 Central Avenue, Natchitoches, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. The forums will be facilitated and hosted by the Chamber and sponsored by NSU’s Student Government Association.

 

Every candidate running for either Parish Sheriff, President, or Council received a letter inviting them to attend their respective forum. With their letter, they also received a questionnaire and a request to submit their answers back to the Chamber by noon on September 5. Each candidate’s response is posted and available to view at natchitocheschamber.com/candidates respond. The responses have been sent to local media.

 

The forums are free and open to the public. Both forums will follow the same format as the School Board Candidate forum that was previously hosted by the A+ Coalition, an initiative of the Chamber. Each candidate for Parish President and Parish Council will be given the opportunity to speak for three minutes on questions 5 and 6, and each candidate for Parish Sheriff will be given the opportunity to speak for three minutes on questions 3 and 4.

 

The audience will be given the chance to submit written questions to the candidates at the beginning of the event. Questions will be presented by the moderator, and to keep the forum fair, each candidate will have an allotted amount of time to respond to the questions posed. There will be a timer with a signal card to keep each candidate on track. For Parish Council, questions will be required to be addressed to the district, and not an individual candidate.

 

The Chamber is hosting these forums with the intent of promoting civic engagement and civic literacy. The Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce helps foster a thriving community through transformative leadership, collaboration and innovation.

 

For more information, visit natchitocheschamber.com or contact the Chamber office at (318)  352-6894 or info@natchitocheschamber.com.