SOUTH PORTLAND — Candidates for the City Council will debate in a forum scheduled for 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 25 Cottage Road.

The forum is sponsored by South Portland-Cape Elizabeth Community Chamber. Moderator William Arnold said the event is intended to be non-partisan and independent from forums held by special-interest groups, including the South Portland Land Trust, which scheduled a forum for Oct. 15. 

“We do not have any special interest,” Arnold said. “We’ve tried really hard to keep this non-partisan. And we realized the best way to do that is to let the audience decide which issues to talk about.” 

Some candidates have complained in the past about their rivals stacking the audience with supporters and planting questions, but Arnold said he encourages each candidate to do exactly that.  If there is a lack of questions from the audience, he said he will be prepared to ask some of his own. 

There are two City Council seats up for grabs on Nov. 3.

The three candidates competing to represent District 3 (the area between Cape Elizabeth, Pleasantdale, Lincoln and Evans streets, and Cottage Road, Boothby Avenue and Ocean Street) are Buttonwood Street resident and former Councilor Rosemarie DeAngelis, Tanner Street resident Gary Crosby and Cottage Road resident Christopher Kessler.

Although incumbent Councilor Maxine Beecher is running unopposed in District 4, Arnold said she will also participate in the forum, which will be televised on SPC-TV, Channel 2.

 

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