The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON—The Dayton branch of the American Association of University Women will host a candidates’ forum on Thursday, Oct. 4, from 7 – 9:30 p.m. at the Liberty Theater.

Candidates in three contested races in Columbia County have agreed to appear. Columbia County Sheriff: Joe Helm and Jeff Jenkins; Columbia County Commissioner: Charles Amerein and Dain Nysoe; Columbia County Treasurer: Carla Rowe and Cathy Schochet;

Candidates for two state legislative races will also appear: State Legislative District Representative Position 1: Bill Jenkin and Everett Maroon; State Legislative District Representative Position 2: Rebecca Francik and Skyler Rude.

U.S. Congressional District 16 Representative candidates Cathy McMorris Rogers and Lisa Brown will not attend.

Candidates customarily give a five-minute speech followed by a moderated question and answer session. This is not a formal debate event, and questions from the audience are not screened in advance. Representatives of candidates are not allowed on stage, but may be identified by the moderator and are free to talk with citizens after the forum.

Refreshments are provided following the forum to allow citizens to visit with candidates and ask more questions.