Educating voters is a vital mission for the League of Women Voters. One way that we do this is through candidate forums and debates, which give voters opportunities to hear directly from the candidates about their stance on the issues. So far this year, the LWVWA has held three candidate forums for the primary election for the offices of Superintendent of Public Schools, Attorney General, and Commissioner of Public Lands.

In May, the LWVWA teamed up with the LWV of the Spokane Area and Central Valley School District to hold the candidate forum for Superintendent of Public Schools. The League worked with Central Valley School District Superintendent Dr. John Parker and teacher Brittany Bergman to recruit students to be active participants in the forum. The student panel represented various high schools in the area and included: Jacob Cloward (Spokane Valley Tech), Hailee Elkins (Mica Peak High School), Lucy He (Central Valley High School), Gracie Newell (Ridgeline High School), Everett Stinson (University), and Vivian Van Buren (Ridgeline). These students did an excellent job! They developed questions for the forum and asked the candidates directly during the event. TVW broadcast and recorded the forum, you can watch it here.

In June, the LWVWA worked with the LWV of Benton/Franklin County to hold the candidate forum for Attorney General. The forum was held in Richland, at WSU's Tri-Cities campus, and was broadcast and recorded by Northwest Public Broadcasting. Watch the recording here.

In July, the LWVWA and the LWV of Clark County teamed up to hold a candidate forum for the Commissioner of Public Lands race. The League was pleased to be joined by The Columbian and The Reflector newspapers, who co-sponsored the forum. All seven candidates for the Commissioner of Public Lands position appeared at the forum and answered questions posed by the public and League members. This forum was also recorded and broadcast by TVW and the recording can be viewed here.

The LWVWA is fortunate to have the help of so many League members in planning and producing these candidate events! In particular, we'd like to acknowledge the help of Ann Strosnider and Maurie Louis (LWV Kitsap) for their public outreach efforts; Elaine Harger and Beth Pelliccioti (LWV Spokane/LWVWA) for their help with the Spokane events; and Diane Molleson and Bev Johnson-Torelli (LWV Benton/Franklin) for their help with the forum in Richland. The LWVWA forums could not have been as successful as they were without the help of these individuals.

Make sure you stay tuned, as the the LWVWA is planning more candidate forums for the general election in November. Watch our website for announcements!