Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — With early voting less than a week away and candidates already complaining about lack of sleep, today's election forum comes just in time for local residents to learn about the issues before casting their votes.

"I think it's important for voters to make informed decisions at the poll and these forums will help ensure that that happens," said Harper Louden, the news director for KBCR. Louden will be one of the moderators at the forum.

The Steamboat Pilot & Today and KBCR Big Country Radio are co-hosting a candidate forum today at Olympian Hall that will showcase each candidate running for the four open City Council spots and representatives supporting or opposing the four tax proposals on the ballot.

Audience participation is an essential part of the forum, with members of the public getting to ask questions of the candidates.

"We want people to interact with the candidates and get the best possible insight on the issues so we are giving them a chance to ask questions," said Steamboat Pilot & Today Editor Scott Stanford. "The more local residents are involved, the better."

All four City Council races will be contested and the ballot is packed with tax proposals. Although candidates run from specific districts, all voters within the city limits will be able to vote for all candidates.

The first part of the forum will consist of candidates answering questions and presenting their visions for the community.

After that, representatives of groups supporting and opposing tax proposals will make their case before the public. The debates between candidates will last for the first hour of the two-hour forums.

The forum will have the same format during both the afternoon and evening sessions, with candidates beginning with opening statements and then fielding questions from moderators. Then the audience gets its shot, writing down questions for the moderators to read.

Early voting begins on Oct. 22. The regular election is Nov. 6.