CHIMACUM — The League of Woman Voters of Jefferson County will host a candidate forum today for the Chimacum School Board’s District Three director position, the only contested race on this year’s primary ballot.
The forum starts at 7 p.m. at the Tri-Area Community Center, should last approximately two hours and will have cookies and coffee for attendees, said League Chair Dennis Danneau.
There are four candidates for this contested non-partisan position: Gary Frogner, Steve Martin, Kristina Mayer and Jeremiah Perrott.
The League of Woman Voter’s mission for this event is “to provide the community an opportunity to listen to the candidates to make wise informed decisions.”
The forum has a moderator, Shelley Randall, who will be in charge of making sure each candidate has an equal opportunity to speak, rotating which candidate answers first, asking the questions submitted by the public and other duties to keep the forum fair, said Daneau.
The neutral space will allow the public to submit written and verbal questions for the four candidates to field and address, said Daneau.
A large goal of this forum for the League, “is to have as many people as informed as possible” so they “hope people from the district will show up,” said Daneau.
Having people in attendance is the key part to the forum, said Danneau. The League hopes to see the seats full at tonight’s forum.
The most common issue that the four candidates spoke to was the drop of enrollment within the Chimacum School District and that all four have ideas to try and address it.
Frogner said he likes the idea of this forum and encourages public involvement.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to voice issues,” Frogner said. “And for the public to hear from the candidates on how they will approach issues.”
Frogner wants to look out for “the welfare of the children” and have the opportunity to work for the community.
Martin said he wants to help with the changes to the district within the next few years.
“We’re dealing declining enrollment and with that comes some financial challenges,” Martin said. “I have some ideas and I want to help guide the schools forward through these challenges.”
Mayer said she wants to work with “the district to improve enrollment, to improve culture and climate and to improve academic achievement” and she is looking forward to the forum.
“I am excited about it. I enjoy public open conversation about things that matter in our community,” she said. “So I am looking forward to meeting the other candidates and also listening to the questions that come.”
Perrott spoke to the issue of the levy rollback and to the declining enrollment. He stated he is the youngest candidate, so he believes he is more in touch with today’s youth and he looks forward to speaking with the public.
“I am looking forward to [the forum],” Perrott said. “It will be a good opportunity to … have community engagement and to speak to some more citizens on what issues really matter to them.”
The League regularly hosts forums such as these, and another is set for Oct. 14 for the General Election in November for all contested races within Jefferson County.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.