Kalamazoo City Commission candidate forum set

KALAMAZOO—A city commission candidate forum later this month at Western Michigan University will bring issues facing the city of Kalamazoo to the forefront.

The forum, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the Fetzer Center's Kirsch Auditorium, is sponsored by the Stuart, Vine and West Main Hill neighborhood associations and the WMU Institute of Government and Politics. The opportunity to hear from Kalamazoo City Commission candidates is free and open to the public.

Gordon Evans, "Morning Edition" anchor for WMU's public radio station WMUK-FM, will be the moderator. Evans has moderated similar events over the last several years. WMUK also will record the forum, broadcasting it later in the week and archiving it on the station's website, wmuk.org.

"This is a terrific opportunity for Kalamazoo's citizens to meet the candidates," says Dr. Peter Wielhouwer, institute director and associate professor of political science. "These men and women are putting themselves in the public eye, and we're excited to help increase citizen awareness of those candidates, so voters can make informed decisions."

The Institute of Government and Politics is the community outreach arm of the WMU Department of Political Science.

"By partnering with Kalamazoo neighborhood associations, we hope to increase voter awareness of important issues at stake in the election and where candidates stand on those issues," Wielhouwer adds.

To submit questions

The public is encouraged to submit questions in advance. Organizers and the moderator will use the questions to develop a final set of questions for the candidates. People should submit questions along with their full name and contact information by Thursday, Oct. 24, to peter.wielhouwer@wmich.edu.