Ironton residents will get the chance Thursday to meet their future city council and school board leaders.

Wednesday, October 31, 2001

Ironton residents will get the chance Thursday to meet their future city council and school board leaders.

The Ironton Co-operative Club has organized a "Meet the Candidates Night" prior to next week’s General Election, to give voters a chance to hear first-hand what the candidates for Ironton City Council and Ironton Board of Education have to say.

"We thought there should be interaction with the community with this election," said Evelyn Weill, Co-op Club member.

"It will be a good opportunity for everybody to meet their candidates," Mrs. Weill said, adding that she doesn’t know half the candidates herself.

The "Meet the Candidates Night" will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be held at Ohio University Southern Campus, in the Bowman Auditorium. The night will end at 9 p.m.

Candidates for city council will discuss their platforms and answer questions during the first hour. Candidates for school board will follow suit during the second hour.

The forum will allow each candidate to address the audience with their personal information and to share why they feel they area qualified candidate for council and school board, the club said in letters to the candidates.

The moderator for the candidate night will be OUSC’s Bob Smith.

The audience will be allowed to submit questions at the door. Smith will ask the questions, allowing each candidate to answer the questions directed toward them, as well as giving their input on other topics.

The Ironton Co-operative Club encourages all candidates and the public to participate, in order to learn about who’s running for office, Mrs. Weill said.

"We thought this was a good service project to take on, because we don’t have a League of Women Voters here like they do in other communities," she said.

The forum will be taped and will be available for viewing on Channel 2 the weekend before the election, the club has announced.

Candidates needing more information can contact Mrs. Weill at 532-2461, or Kathy McGinnis at 532-8283.

Candidates for Ironton City Council include (in alphabetical order): John W. Elam, Robert Isaac, Larry Jewell, David Richard Massey, Raymond Franklin Murphy, William Brent Pyles, James Ray Ridgeway, Robert Smith, Jim Tordiff and Leo M. Ulery have filed in the race for four seats. One unexpired term (currently held by Richard Price) is also up for grabs. Richard B. Price, Bob Vaughn and Hilda Davidson have filed in that race.

Candidates for Ironton Board of Education include (in alphabetical order): Jeffrey L. Handley, William Hannon, Steven C. Harvey, Shawn E. Osborne, Teresa Parker.