Kelso, Longview city council candidates to debate live at LCC on Oct . 4 and Oct. 11

Organizers hope new format sharpens contrasts between candidates

Note: I am a member of the Cowlitz Civil Dialogue Project, which is one of the organizers of these debates. Please help spread the word, and feel free to forward this announcement. Thanks to Melanee Green Evans for the cool logo.

Candidates for seven Kelso and Longview City Council seats will square off in a series of debates scheduled for Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 at Lower Columbia College’s Rose Center.

The two-hour “Focus on Democracy” debates, which start at 7 p.m. each evening, will feature a live audience and also will be broadcast live on KLTV. It also will feature live polling. 

The debates are sponsored by the Kelso-Longview Chamber of Commerce and the Cowlitz Civil Dialogue Project. 

Candidates will square off against their opponent in half-hour mini debates. Each candidate will be given two minutes to answer a question and 30 seconds each for a rebuttal.  

Only two candidates — those challenging for the same seat — will appear on stage at the same time. This format differs from the old League of Women Voters’ debates, in which all candidates for city council seats in a particular city would appear on stage all at once. Organizers of this fall’s debates believe the new format will reveal sharper contrasts between candidates. 

Candidates for three races will appear on Oct. 4, appearing in this order: 

• Longview Council Position 3, Christopher Ortiz and Erik Halvorsen

• Kelso Council Position 5, Keenan Harvey and Garrett Colkitt

• Longview Council Position 4, Ruth Kendall and Randy E. Knox

Candidates for four seats will square off on Oct 11. In order of appearance they are:

* Longview Council Position 1, Kalei LaFave and Mike Wallin

* Kelso Council Position 4, Jim Hill and Aaron Bunn

* Longview Council Position 2, Ramona Leber and Keith Young

* Kelso Council Position 7, Veryl A. Anderson and Scott Olson.

In addition to broadcast on KLTV, the debates will be live-streamed at cloud.castus.tv/vod/kltv/page=LIVE. Live polling will take place online at civilfocuslv.com.

Retired Cowlitz Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning and Melanee Evans, a public relations and marketing specialist for Lower Columbia Head Start, will moderate the debates. Josh Carter, owner of Carter Venture Solutions (a marketing and advertising consulting firm), will be the MC.

The debate is an outgrowth of the Civil Dialogue Project’s efforts to promote informed, civil discussion of issues of local importance and Carter’s idea to hold a debate about issues facing the two cities.

The Civil Dialogue project sponsored a series of forums in the fall of 2022 about the causes of political discord and how the community can have more constructive discussions about the community’s key issues, Warning said. Accordingly, people who attend in person are asked to maintain decorum and avoid clapping until each debate concludes. Signs will not be allowed.

“Hostile rhetoric drives people apart and hinders the path to solutions and new visions for our communities’ future,” Warning said. “These debates are intended to model civil dialogue.That doesn’t mean that candidates should avoid hot topics or honest disagreements, but that they talk about them civilly. This is why we’re asking our live audience to be polite to all candidates.”

Admission is free and open to all.