YachatsNews is sponsoring a forum for candidates for Yachats mayor, city council and Lincoln County commission.
Because it might be the only live, in-person candidate’s forum in Lincoln County this fall, there will be some restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The forum will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18 in the outdoor pavilion behind the Yachats Commons. Nine candidates for mayor, council and the county commission have been invited.
To help provide adequate social distancing, the number of people in the audience will be limited to no more than 40. Masks or face coverings will be required.
The forum will be videotaped and recorded and put on YachatsNews’ YouTube channel so that anyone can see what the candidates said.
The forum will be moderated by Quinton Smith, reporter/editor/manager of YachatsNews.com. He will ask questions of the candidates that are submitted by members of the audience.
Questions can be directed to individual candidates, but all candidates for the county commission, Yachats mayor and city council will get an opportunity to answer it.
The forum is replacing one normally held by the Lincoln County chapter of the League of Women Voters, which is not holding an in-person candidate fair this year. In 2016 that organization’s fair drew more than 100 people to the Yachats Commons.
Because of that, it may require an unusual method to select audience members. People who want to attend will likely have to be selected in advance if more than 40 indicate they wish to attend.
So, to be selected to attend you must send an email to YachatsNews by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 with your name, contact information, the general subjects you are interested in (i.e. budget, vacation rentals, infrastructure, water, citizen involvement, coronavirus, business recovery, housing, etc.) and a possible question or two you would like to ask the city of Yachats or Lincoln County candidates.
If necessary to stay under the 40-person limit, audience members will be selected – and notified either way – on the quality of their topics or potential questions and will be asked to check in before the start of the forum.
Invited to attend were:
Lincoln County Commission: Claire Hall, who is seeking her fifth, four-year term on the three-member board, and Joe Hitselberger, the owner of Wolf Tree Brewing in Seal Rock who finished second to Hall in the May primary election.
Yachats Mayor: John Moore, who is seeking re-election to the position he won in 2018, and Leslie Vaaler, who was elected to a four-year-term on the City Council in 2018.
Yachats City Council: Max Glenn, who was appointed to the council in 2015 and elected in 2016; Jim Tooke, who was also elected in 2016; Greg Scott, who was elected to the council in 2006 and served 11½ years before resigning in July 2018; Ann Stott, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor against Moore in November 2018; and, Dawn Keller, a member of the city’s Parks & Commons Commission.