All five candidates for the Ward 6, position 1, vacancy on the Jonesboro City Council will participate Thursday in a public forum sponsored by the City of Jonesboro. The 2-hour event will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at the Municipal Center.
The candidates, who will be on a May 10 special election ballot, are:
• James W. Bowman of 4410 Mockernut Lane, a riverboat captain;
• Phillip Cook of 5216 Richardson Drive, a retired co-owner of a tool and die company;
• Bobby Edward Long of 4121 Oakhill Lane, a human resources official for Cavenaugh Auto Group;
• Dr. Richard Wang, 101 University Drive, a political science professor at Arkansas State University; and
• Joseph R. Woodbury of 4004 Cobblestone Circle, a Nettleton school teacher.
They will be questioned by a panel of local journalists including Keith Inman of The Jonesboro Sun, Michael Wilkey of Talk Business and Politics and LaGanzie Kale of KLEK-FM radio.
Roy Ockert Jr., retired editor of The Sun, will serve as moderator.
The election is to fill a vacancy created when longtime Alderman Tim McCall moved out of Ward 6. The election, however, is citywide.
The forum, which is open to the public, will be broadcast live on Suddenlink Channel 24 and then replayed periodically until the election.
Each candidate will be allowed a 5-minute opening statement, and then the panelists will alternate in asking questions. Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to each question, and a 1-minute rebuttal will be allowed. A 2-minute closing statement for each candidate will conclude the forum.
