Forums scheduled two nights in a row in Oconee County next week will give voters a chance to hear candidates for state House District 120, state House District 121, and state Senate District 46 answer questions on issues in the Nov. 3 election.
On Sept. 23 candidates will be asked to respond to questions from directors of the Oconee County Farm Bureau on issues that impact farmers and rural Oconee County.
That forum will begin at 7 p.m. at Antiques Acres Farm, 2531 Snows Mill Road, in the west of the county. From 6:30 to 7 p.m., citizens will have a chance to meet with the candidates informally.
On Sept. 24, the candidates will take questions directly from citizens in a forum sponsored by The Oconee Enterprise and Oconee County Observations.
The Sept. 24 Forum will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Center in Oconee Veterans Park, 3500A Hog Mountain Road, west of Butler’s Crossing.
The Sept. 24 Forum also will include a session for candidates for U.S. House District 10.
Both the Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 forums are open to the public.
Sept. 23 Candidate Forum
Morgan Hart, Farm Bureau District 4 Federation Manager, said the Sept. 23 Forum will have separate sessions for House District 120, House District 121, and Senate District 46.
He and another Farm Bureau staff member will pose three to four questions to each of the candidates in those three sessions, he said in an email exchange last week.
The candidates will have two minutes for an opening statement and two minutes for a closing statement.
The candidates were told that “The questions will focus specifically on Georgia Farm Bureau issues, policies, and priorities, as well as issues affecting agriculture, rural communities, land use, and the agricultural economy.”
“Our goal is to give Farm Bureau members and the community an opportunity to understand each candidate's position on issues that directly impact farmers and rural Oconee County,” that statement said.
Invitations were sent to Republican Ward Black and Democrat Suzanna Karatassos competing for the open House District 120 seat, to incumbent Democrat Eric Gisler and Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest IV for House District 121, and to Republican Marc McMain and Democrat Ray Smith for Senate District 46.
House District 120 is an open race because Republican Houston Gaines is running for U.S. Congress from House District 10. Senate District 46 also is open because incumbent Republican Bill Cowsert is stepping down.
All of Oconee County falls in Senate District 46 and U.S. Congressional District 10.
Oconee County South, Central, and Dark Corner precincts are in House District 121, and Oconee County Northeast Precinctis in House District 120.
Sept. 24 Candidate Forum
The Sept. 24 candidate will begin with introductory comments by Patrick Graham, publisher of The Enterprise as well as of The Walton Tribune and The Covington News and me.
Panel 1 for House District 120 will be from 5:45-6:15 p.m.
Panel 2 for House District 121 will be from 6:15-6:45 p.m.
Panel 3 for Senate District 46 will be from 6:45-7:15 p.m.
And Panel 4 for Congressional District 10 will be from 7:15-7:45 p.m.
The room at the Community Center must be vacated by 8 p.m.
Graham and Katie Vickery, an Oconee County resident, former broadcast journalist, and public relations practitioner, will co-moderate the session, recognizing speakers from the audience who want to ask a question.
Each candidate will have two minutes for introductory comments, two minutes to respond to questions, and one minute for closing comments.
Candidate Commitments
To date, each of the candidates with the exception of Gaines has committed to attend the Sept. 24 Candidate Forum.
Gaines said in a text message on Sept. 8 that he “will know by the first of next week one way or the other” if he can attend.
“It’s really a tough evening for me,” he added.
Panel 4 will be held even if only Democrat Pamela DeLancy attends. Under that circumstance, all of the questions will be directed to DeLancy.
The Congressional District 10 seat is open because incumbent Republican Mike Collins is running for the U.S. Senate.
Rules For Questions
In the welcoming remarks before the first panel for the Sept. 24 forum persons wishing to pose a question will be told they should raise a hand to be recognized.
David Clementson, a professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of Georgia, will take a microphone to the person recognized. Clementson also lives in Oconee County.
The person posing the question will be asked to stand, identify oneself, and state a single question succinctly.
The question must be directed to both of the candidates on the panel.
The participants posing questions will be asked not to make statements, critical or otherwise, and not to endorse any of the candidates.
Candidates are invited to bring advisors, but those advisors are asked not to ask questions.
The candidates also are invited to bring campaign materials for distribution after the session.
The session will be video recorded and available on the Oconee County Observations Vimeo channel .
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