'Meet and greet' area candidates

Chamber plans event before municipal election

By Dale Liesch | Dadeville Record

Published Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Dadeville voters will have an opportunity before the Aug. 26 municipal election to meet with each candidate and learn more about them before heading to the polls.

The meet the candidates event in Dadeville will take place on August 21 at 6 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom in the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.

The Dadeville Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the event, which will allow candidates to speak in front of a group of gathered citizens for about five minutes if they wish.

“Its more of a meet and greet type of thing,” said Dadeville Chamber President Steve Kerr. “I don’t expect it to last a long time depending on how many candidates get up and speak.”

Kerr expects the turnout for candidates running for local offices to be pretty good. The candidates will speak about their vision for the city in the next four years.

“So far the response from candidates about the event has been good,” said Kerr.

Dave Heinzen with the Citizens for Good Government said the organization originally wanted the Chamber to sponsor a candidate forum with debate

“We’re going to do this one way or the other,” said Heinzen.

Heinzen said he and other members of the Citizens for Good Government are hoping for a forum type gathering like ones seen on television.

“Many of our members have participated in political forums, these types of forums have been held for a long, long time,” said Heinzen. “Voters don’t learn anything by meeting with each candidate individually.”