Owensboro’s four mayoral candidates participated in a virtual forum Thursday to address a handful of issues facing the City.
The four candidates are incumbent Tom Watson and challengers Larry Conder, Pam Smith-Wright and Dracin Williams.
The event was broadcast on the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Facebook page as part of their remote Rooster Booster sponsored by Owensboro Community and Technical College.
In addition to opening and closing statements, each candidate answered six questions. The full video with their responses can still be viewed on the Chamber’s Facebook page.
The following questions were asked:
- What do you think is the most important role for the mayor of Owensboro, and how would you distinguish yourself in that role?
- Will you commit to bringing a fairness ordinance to a vote, and what type of fairness ordinance would you be willing to support, if any?
- What do you think needs to be done in order to get different price points for downtown housing, and also make it easier for businesses to operate downtown?
- Yes or no, do you support reinstating primary elections? Why or why not?
- Why do you think crime is escalating in Owensboro, and what would you do as mayor to address the issue?
- How do we stay attractive as a community that successfully recruits and retains talent, and is there an opportunity to capitalize on the growth of virtual workplaces that we’ve seen over this year?
The event was moderated by Matt Francis, Executive Editor of the Messenger-Inquirer.
All four mayoral candidates will have the opportunity to again address issues and answer questions on Oct. 13 during the Owensboro Times Virtual Town Hall presented by Castlen Steel and Daniel Dick – State Farm Insurance Agent.
The OT Virtual Town Hall will also feature City Commission candidates. The event will be broadcast live on our Facebook page in three segments throughout the day.
By: Ryan Richardson The Owensboro Times