Lakeland voters have three chances to attend a political forum with Lakeland candidates running in the Nov. 6 election.
A third announced forum is sponsored by the North Lakeland Community Association (NLCA) Oct. 18.
6-8 p.m. – Oct. 18 – doors open at 5:30 p.m.
New Salem Cumberland Presbyterian Church – 6813 Salem Rd
Two previously announced forums are sponsored by the LMPS (Lakeland Middle Preparatory School) PTO.
6 – 8 p.m. Oct. 15
LES (Lakeland Elementary School)
6 – 8 p.m. Oct. 22
LMPS
Early voting starts Oct. 17 and runs to Nov. 1 with the actual election date Nov. 6.
Shaun Cummings with the NLCA said the Oct. 18 forum is for candidates running for mayor, commission and school board seats. Confirmed candidates, he said, include Mayoral candidates Wyatt Bunker and Michael Cunningham; Commissioner candidates Jeremy Burnett, Michele Dial, Richard Gonzales Jr., Michael Green and Clark Plunk; and School Board candidates Zachary Coleman and Kevin Floyd.
The Church in North Lakeland can only seat 100 people, Mr. Cummings said. “Due to limited capacity of the Church, this event is for current Lakeland residents. We are inviting other Lakeland residents but the Church can only accommodate 100 people. We ask our North Lakeland residents to arrive early for reserved seating.”
As explanation for the reserved seating, Mr. Cummings said the North Lakeland group is small, usually 12 to 35 folks at regular meetings. “The Church can hold about 130 people. We will reserve an area for 35 people, the rest is for non-North Lakeland visitors.”
Mr. Cummings added, “Each candidate will have an allotted amount of time for an opening statement and discuss predetermined topics.”
The moderator will be Bill Smith, NLCA president.
Mr. Cummings said the event will be live streamed and he will provide the link when available. He said he is setting up a Facebook event page.
Two other forums
There will be two other forums this month, previously announced, and sponsored by the LMPS PTO. They are Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 at Lakeland schools.
All candidates for Mayor and Board of Commissioners have been invited, according to Cindy Davis, PTO president.
Mrs. Davis said the following candidates will attend both PTO forums: Wyatt Bunker, Jeremy Burnett, Michele Dial and Clark Plunk. The following candidates have not indicated they will attend either PTO forum: Michael Cunningham, Richard Gonzales Jr. and Michael Green. The PTO forums did not include School Board candidates, according to Mrs. Davis.
Mrs. Davis said there will be ample seating in both school gyms to accommodate Lakeland voters who want to attend either forum or both.
See flyer, below, for additional details on the PTO forums. A flyer for the NLCA forum was not provided to Lakeland Currents.
Link to Lakeland Currents story, providing information on candidates running for office.
Link to Shelby County Election Commission site: https://www.shelbyvote.com/
