Upcoming candidate forum

At Saturday's forum, hosted by the local conservative group, comments were made about candidates not attending their forums, this one and the previous one.

There's a simple solution to ensure candidates are in attendance.

Make sure the date(s) you choose for your forum(s) does not conflict with previously scheduled obligations of the candidates.

At Saturday's forum, hosted by the local conservative group, comments were made about candidates not attending their forums, this one and the previous one.

There's a simple solution to ensure candidates are in attendance.

Make sure the date(s) you choose for your forum(s) does not conflict with previously scheduled obligations of the candidates.

For this last forum, Rep. Pat Ingraham, when contacted, informed the forum's coordinators, Gail and Chappy Krauthoff, she would not be able to attend because she would be out of county attending another event and would not return until late Saturday.

Sheriff candidate Ed Schramm went so far as to put a letter to the editor in the paper stating he would be in New York attending the graduation of his daughter, an event which had been scheduled nine months previously.

Sheriff candidate Billy Hill had a letter read to the group in attendance that he too had a conflict, which had been scheduled for three weeks in advance.

And the majority of other "invited" candidates did not attend.

And speaking of inviting, I think it was misleading to the public for the conservative group to advertise, in both the Ledger and the Valley Press, that certain candidates had been invited.

To better inform the public, the advertisement should have indicated which candidates had confirmed they would be attending. But then, who'd of gone if they'd known only four of the nine invited candidates would appear?

In past years, the local Chambers of Commerce, public television and other groups have sponsored forums.

They were well attended by both candidates and the public. But those groups went the extra mile to facilitate attendance by the candidates.

Just a suggestion, but perhaps the conservative group could go to one of those groups and learn how to put on a successful forum.

I'll close by saying the Sanders County Republican Party is hosting a Republican Sheriffs Candidates Forum at the Thompson Falls Senior Citizen Center on Wednesday, May 19.

The forum begins at 7:00 p.m. and the Republican candidates will be there.

Tom Eggensperger has agreed to be the moderator and if you have a question you'd like asked, you can email the question to him at ledger@blackfoot.

Questions must be job specific and not an attack on a given candidate. Questions also will be taken from the audience in attendance.

Those questions will be put in writing and given to the moderator who'll decide if it's an appropriate question to be asked of the candidates.

See you there!

Michael L. Hashisaki Chairman

Sanders County

Republican Central Committee

Plains, Montana