Jefferson County NAACP to host candidate forums
CHARLES TOWN-The Jefferson County NAACP will be sponsoring 2016 candidate forums on four different dates in April that are open to the public.
“I think it’s important that people come out so they can know exactly what the candidates are going to do so they can hold them accountable,” said George Rutherford, president of the Jefferson County NAACP. “We don’t mind asking hard questions, and we don’t care if you’re a Democrat or Republican-you’ve got to serve the public.”
The first forum will be held at the Jefferson County Commission meeting room in Charles Town on April 6 beginning at 7 p.m. The forum will feature candidates for the 65th, 66th and 67th House of Delegates districts, as well as the 16th Senate district.
“We have found this to be a very effective thing because we have candidates say they are going to do this and that,” Rutherford said in a telephone interview. “If they come back and haven’t produced, we can point blank ask them, and we more or less pass that information around to inform the public.”
Rutherford said the Jefferson County NAACP has been hosting these candidate forums since the 1970s.
The schedule for the subsequent forums:
April 11: Jefferson County Magistrate and division 6 Circuit Court Judge, Jefferson County Commission meeting room, Charles Town, 7 p.m.
April 14; Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney, Jefferson County Commission and Jefferson County Clerk, Jefferson County Commission meeting room, Charles Town, 7 p.m.
April 19: Jefferson County School Board and Jefferson County Sheriff, St. Philip’s Episcopal Parish Hall, Charles Town, 7 p.m.
For more information, call 304-725-9610.