Two candidate forums are scheduled this week. Three Indian Rocks Beach candidates will field questions from constituents Tuesday evening in the City Auditorium located at 1507 Bay Palm Blvd. The forum begins at 7:00 p.m. with voter registration from 6:30 to 7:00.
Four candidates in Gulfport will see how it feel on the City Council dais Thursday. Incumbent Mayor Sam Henderson will square off with his opponent, Barbara Banno beginning at 6:40 p.m. inside Gulfport City Hall at 2401 53rd Street.
April Thanos will have the chance to debate incumbent Dan Liedtke who she is challenging for a City Council seat.
The debate is hosted by the League of Women Voters. It will be split into two 45-minute segments beginning with Thanos and Liedtke. Banno and Henderson will take the spotlight for the second half.
The event is expected to wrap up around 8:15. It will be broadcast on Gulfport TV on channel 640 on Brighthouse or on the city’s website.
Hot topics in the Gulfport election include how to address the previous sewage dump into Clam Bayou that left Gulfport’s beach temporarily closed due to un-safe levels of contamination. The city of St. Pete concluded through independent testing that the water had recovered. However, some Gulfport officials as well as those challenging incumbents think there is still more to be done.
The candidates participating in Indian Rocks Beach’s forum are Bill Dotson, Terry Hamilton-Wollin and Phillip Hanna. Voters will be able to vote for two of the candidates.
Both races hit the ballot March 15 in the Presidential Preference Primary.
