Story by Daniella Tebib, Staff writer 

Candidates running for public office had the opportunity to share their thoughts on issues during a forum held on Oct. 16 at Lovett Auditorium.

A forum for the public to meet Murray’s candidates for local and regional elections was held on Murray State’s campus on Oct. 16.

Murray State University’s Town and Gown Program and the Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce teamed up to host the public forum, which allowed candidates in the mayoral, judge executive and District 5 state representative races to speak.

State representative candidates were asked, if elected, how they would ensure Murray State continues to offer affordable opportunities for the students in the region.

Other issues addressed in the forum include the city’s economic development, how to improve Murray’s recycling initiative, whether or not removal of the Confederate Statue should be considered and tax reform.

President and CEO of the Murray-Calloway County Chamber of Commerce Michelle Bundren said people aren’t sure who to vote for because they aren’t informed or aware of who the candidates are.

“It gives the candidates an opportunity to share their opinion on different issues that affect the community and the business community,” Bundren said. “It also gives the community an opportunity to hear from them. We heard in the primary, a lot of people didn’t know who to vote for because they weren’t really sure, so we wanted to create that platform to have that conversation with people.”

Carol Brunn, town and gown coordinator, said bringing the university and community together is important and why they chose to collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce for this event.

“What better way to bring the university and community together than to provide a forum for the community to find out what the candidates are about, and to get them out there to vote on Nov. 6,” Brunn said. “People don’t know what’s going on, they just sit at home, they don’t get out, so they don’t hear what everything’s about. Then, they go to the booths on Nov. 6, and they’re not informed. This is a way to inform the community about what their candidates are about and what they have to say.”

Leslie Engelson, Murray resident, was happy to have the opportunity to hear more from the candidates.

“I appreciated the event because there is so little voter information available, so I appreciate events like this,” Engelson said. “This is the first time I had the opportunity to hear the state representative candidates.”

Tuesday, Nov. 6 is election day. Polls will be open 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click here to find your polling location.