Anyone who has ever had a burning question for a politician will not want to miss the upcoming all-candidates meetings.
There will be two meetings, hosted by the Harrison-Agassiz Chamber of Commerce and focusing on the candidates in both of those communities.
The first will be held in Harrison Hot Springs, on Tuesday, November 8 at the Memorial Hall from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The second will be in Agassiz, at the Ag Hall on Pioneer Avenue, on Thursday, November 10, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Emcee for both events will be Allan Roth.
“I think the word is getting out to all the candidates,” Roth said, and he’s hoping they’ll all make it out for a full evening.
That being said, the scheduled time for the event is only two hours, a time limit that will be strictly enforced by Roth.
“Everyone will have a chance to speak,” he said. “It’s a fairly hard and fast timeline.”
That will be tricky in Harrison, he admitted, where the number of candidates is currently at 14 candidates. Five are running for mayor, and nine for council. In Agassiz, there are six candidates for council, but the next mayor, John Van Laerhoven, has been chosen by acclamation.
The first hour of the evening will be given to the candidates to speak briefly to the public.
There will then be break, and the public will be invited to write their questions for the candidates down. Those will each be read and considered over the second hour, and many will be chosen to ask the candidates.
Roth said Van Laerhoven will be on hand at the Agassiz all candidates debate, as a chance for the public to get to meet him.
However, since he’s no longer actively running, he won’t be participating in the debate.
Roth has been emcee for debates for about the past 20 years, he said.
“I think the reason I get asked is that I don’t let my political leanings come forth,” he said. “I give everyone a fair shake, whether I agree with them or not.”
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