Candidate forum is Thursday night

A forum for voters to hear the positions of candidates for two contested Okanogan County commissioner seats will take place Thursday at Lake Roosevelt Schools.

The two hotly contested races come after months of push-back on the existing commissioners on several issues that led to the formation of a group dedicated to unseating them. One of them, Commissioner Ray Campbell, lost in the primary election.

Represent Okanogan County 2016 contends the board of commissioners is sacrificing local fiscal responsibility to affect national conservative agendas. Others assert that the group is pushing for unwanted change in a county that doesn’t need it, and that the current commissioners have done well to manage the county’s budget over four years that included many crises, including the largest wildfires in the history of the state.

For District 2, currently held by Campbell, Andy Hover and Ashley Thrasher will each explain why they should gain the confidence of voters.

For the commission District 1, Chris Branch will face off with incubent Commissioner Sheila Kennedy, who represents this end of the county.

The forum is sponsored by the Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce and will be moderated by its vice president, Bob Valen, a resident of Lincoln County.

It begins at 7 p.m., Oct. 13 in the cafeteria at Lake Roosevelt Schools, 505 Crest Dr., Coulee Dam.