League of Women Voters holds candidate forum Oct. 20

Whether candidates of one party choose to not to participate, the League of Women Voters of Jasper County still plans to hold its annual candidate forum this month beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 inside the Newton High School auditorium, 800 E. Fourth St. S. The public is invited to attend and ask questions.

The Jasper County Republican Party announced a few months ago that its candidates — Denny Carpenter, Rep. Jon Dunwell, Barb Kniff McCulla, Sen. Ken Rozenboom and Brandon Talsma — will not be participating in the forum, citing issues with the organization itself.

However, Democratic candidates Pam Olson, Bev Price and Erick Zehr, will be attending the forum, as will libertarian candidate Michael Wood. Democrats Tyler Stewart and Mike Overman have prior commitments and cannot be at the League of Women Voters forum.

Statehouse candidates will speak at 6 p.m. while supervisors candidates will speak at 7:15 p.m. or so.

Bonnie Pitz, president of the League of Women Voters of Jasper County, said the purpose of the forum is to provide voters with the information they need to make their best choice on Election Day. The organization, she said, is trying to just get information out to folks.

“I think there are a lot of independent voters and they may have specific issues they have a concern about it,” she said. “This gives them an opportunity to attend the forum, write up their question and get a response from candidates. We’ve been doing this a long time and currently there is polarization.”

Which she says interferes with the voting process. It is disappointing, Pitz said, but the League continues to let Republicans know that if they come to the forum at the very last minute, they are welcome to do so.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext 560 or at cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com