Columbus hears from candidates running for local office at ‘Meet the Candidates’ event

Editors Note: WRBL will be conducting interviews with all the local election candidates in the coming weeks.

COLUMBUS, Ga. ( WRBL ) — Thursday, a smattering of people from around Muscogee county gathered to hear from four candidates running for local offices.

The “Meet the Candidates” event gave the public a chance to be more informed about who they are voting for. It also gave the candidates a chance to speak directly to the people they will be representing.

The candidates for District Attorney — Incumbent Don Kelly and Anthony Johnson — and the candidates for Solicitor General — Suzanne Goddard and Shevon Thomas, Sr. — were in attendance to take questions about where they stand on certain issues.

Each candidate received one minute to answer each question. They were also given time at the end to make a closing argument for their campaigns.

The questions ranged from what each candidate would do about the growing backlog of cases in each office, to queries about upholding ethics and diversity in the offices of District Attorney and Solicitor General.

District Attorney Don Kelly and candidate Anthony Johnson both emphasized the importance of forums like this.

“Well, one of the big things is we’re not like the presidential candidates where we’re getting national air time and people are hearing constantly speech after speech,” Kelly said. “So, for people to understand what the platform of the candidate is, they need to come to local forums like this and ask questions or reach out to the candidate.”

Johnson said, “Well, because knowledge is power. I mean, it gives everybody the opportunity to become informed, become involved, and know who they’re actually voting for and know their platforms, their policies, and expectations and know how they’re going to go forward.”

With early voting in Georgia starting Oct. 15 and Election Day just 25 days away, forums like this will be crucial for voters to know exactly who is on the ballot.

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