Oakland County voters will soon have the opportunity to hear directly from judicial candidates in all upcoming elections for Oakland County judgeships.
"A series of judicial candidate forums will provide voters with the chance to hear the candidates speak about the pertinent issues before the ballots are cast," said Terri Ticknor Gilbert, executive director of the Oakland County Bar Association.
The first forum on Monday, Sept. 12, will highlight the 52-1 District Court race in Novi. Vying for office are candidates Gary Klein and David Law, who are scheduled to appear at the forum from 7-8 p.m. at the Wixom Community Center, 49015 Pontiac Trail.
The second forum, set for Tuesday, Sept. 20, will feature the Oakland County Probate Court race between Jennifer Callahan and Karen Geibel. The forum will take place from 6-7 p.m. in the Oakland County Commissioners Auditorium, 1200 N. Telegraph Road, Pontiac.
The third forum also will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 20, and will spotlight the Oakland County Circuit Court race between candidates Lori Savin and Victoria Valentine. The forum will run from 7:30-8:30 p.m. in the Oakland County Commissioners Auditorium.
"These forums are the result of a partnership now in its sixth judicial cycle of the Oakland County Bar Association, the League of Women Voters-Oakland Area, and The Detroit Free Press that sponsors forums in all contested judicial races in Oakland County," said Ticknor Gilbert. "The purpose of this partnership is to disseminate information about judicial candidates in their communities to help voters become more knowledgeable and informed, encouraging participation in Oakland County judicial elections."
The forums are open to the public and are recorded so they may be aired on cable channels in the communities where the races take place. As soon as the recordings are available, they will be uploaded to the OCBA's YouTube page at http://bit.ly/OCBAYouTube.
Each forum consists of two panelists one from the OCBA and one from The Free Press who may ask questions of each of the candidates. A representative of the League of Women Voters will moderate the forum. In each forum, the public is invited to attend and submit questions for responses by the candidates.
Additionally, all candidates have been asked to complete a Judicial Candidate Questionnaire. The completed questionnaires are available on the OCBA website at http://www.ocba.org/judicial-candidate-forum/.
Published: Mon, Aug 29, 2016
