PUBLIC RESPONDS TO CANDIDATE FORUM

There were many familiar faces to be seen. County Chair Vic Moser is pictured talking to Treasure Kam McEwen while active local Democrat Jade Piros, who served as timekeeper for the event looks on. The support for our RCD candidates was obvious as the evening progressed.


The audience was engaged and eager to hear the responses from the participating candidates, a group just about evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats. There were three instances of particular note. One was when a Rep. candidate expressed the wish that discussions of vehicles for the sheriff's department should have been held behind closed doors. Dem. Kevin Branscom was quick to counter that when matters of the public's tax money were in question, it should never be behind closed doors. The second incident was when a question was directed to Dave Inskeep's opponent. The current Senator was asked about his professional affiliation as attorney for a rural electric co-op, known to be supportive of the Holcomb plant proposal and whether or not it constituted a conflict of interest. While he did offer a credible reponse that it did not qualify as a conflict, his remark before he answered was that it was a "nosey" question. It seemed to this observer that a pattern could be seen in these two responses. The final noteworthy response came from Dem. State Representative Mark Treaster who declared that he would not back down from a position that he believed was the correct one. These are clear indications of the integrity or lack of the same we can expect. Maybe the best example of why your support and willingness to engage in the elections is so vital.

Two quick reminders: there is an event planned for Sunday evening to discuss input to the Democratic Party's platform sponsored by the campaign of Barack Obama that was reported in the Hutchinson News. I tried to make contact with the individual but with no success. The information given was that the event will begin at 6 pm at the home of Heidi Unruh, 1710 E 2nd.

The annual Emancipation Day Parade will be Saturday August 2 starting at 10 am. This parade runs from North to South Main street and is followed by many activities. Again we are making the effort to have a presence. More information will be sent out by RCD email newsletter and posted on the website. Try to be there.