The Daily Freeman-Journal and Kendall Young Library are partnering to host two candidate forums relevant to the upcoming Webster City School Board and City Council of Webster City elections.

These forums will take place at Kendall Young Library.

The school board forum will be on Monday, October 27, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The City Council of Webster City forum will be on Tuesday, October 28, 6 to 8 p.m.

Moderating these events is Bill Shea, editor of The Messenger, Fort Dodge.

The forums will follow the following format:

First, each candidate will be allowed time to address the audience. That time will be limited to a couple of minutes.

Second, the questions for the candidates will come from members of the audience. 

This is how it will work:

Each audience member will be given a card or cards on which to write their questions. A volunteer will collect the cards. The moderator will read the questions. Candidates will be given time to respond to the question. A timekeeper will track the responses to keep things moving.

Because we know some people may want to ask questions, but may not be able to attend either forum, I will accept questions submitted to my email, which is jcurtis@freemanjournal.net. Those questions will be passed on to the moderator in the same way questions from the audience will be submitted.

Both forums will be live-streamed on the Daily Freeman-Journal Facebook page.

It has been pointed out that this is quite short notice, given that the election on November 4 is just shy of three weeks away, and we apologize for that short notice. Due to that short notice, there may be candidates who will not be in attendance. They have all been invited. Those who will attend have expressed their eagerness to talk about the issues that concern their constituents.

That eagerness is remarkable and welcome. We owe each of them our respect for their willingness to serve their community.

There are three open seats on the school board; voters will have the choice of two candidates for each seat: David Stoakes and Ariel Bertran are seeking the at-large seat, with Stoakes being the incumbent. Kerry Jacobsen and Scot Ely are seeking the District 1 seat. Jerry Klaver and Amanda Sowle are seeking the District 3 seat.

There are three open seats on the city council with four candidates running: John Hawkins, who is currently mayor, is seeking re-election; the three other candidates are John Marvel, Ashley Allers and Tyler Moen.

These forums will give you an opportunity to ask questions.

For instance, if you want to know how a school board candidate feels about reconfiguring the existing Webster City High School facility versus constructing a new one, ask.

Would they ban certain reading material if given the chance? Ask them.

Ask for their educational priorities.

Likewise, the City Council of Webster City will make crucial decisions that will impact every local citizen’s life.

What does a candidate want to prioritize in their time on the council?

Ask them what they envision for the future of this community. Then ask them how they foresee making that vision a reality.

Ask them if they are prepared to work hard for this town, because any city council member will tell you a seat on the council requires the shouldering of intense responsibility.

Likewise, the school board.

Ultimately, whoever prevails in these local elections will have an impact on diverse decisions.

In other words, who sits in those seats — and their opinions — matter.

So, we invite you to attend one or both forums.

Inform yourself.

Then, vote.

Jane Curtis is editor of The Daily Freeman-Journal. She is an Iowa Newspaper Association Master Columnist.