Our Daily Show Interview! East End Improvement Candidate Forums Start Feb. 4th!

ALTON - The East End Improvement Association is organizing candidate forums for Alton and Godfrey's aldermanic, trustee, and mayoral candidates in advance of the consolidated election scheduled for April 1, 2025.

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Riverbender.com will televise both the Alton and Godfrey events live.

The Alton forum will take place on Feb. 4, 2025, at the Great Rivers Hotel, while the Godfrey forum is set for Feb. 11, 2025, at the Trimpe Building at Lewis and Clark Community College.

The forums, which will begin at 7 p.m., aim to enhance voter engagement and provide a platform for candidates to present their views to the community. Steve Schwartz and John Keller, members of the East End Improvement Association, discussed the events on Our Daily Show! with host C.J. Nasello. Schwartz will moderate the forums.

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Keller highlighted the importance of these forums, noting the low voter turnout in the 2021 election, where less than 25 percent of the population participated, with only 3,700 ballots cast out of 17,500 registered voters.

"If we can increase that turnout, we will consider it a success," Keller said.

The structured format of the forums will allow mayoral candidates to answer questions from the public. Attendees will receive 3 x 5 cards upon arrival to submit questions, which will be consolidated to minimize repetition. Each mayoral candidate will have the opportunity to deliver two opening statements of 1.5 minutes each and will be allotted two minutes for closing remarks. Candidates for other offices will be given three minutes to discuss their platforms.

Schwartz emphasized the responsibility of citizens to engage in the electoral process. "As citizens, it is an honor and privilege to vote, and it is our responsibility to learn about the candidates," he stated.

These candidate forums are part of a broader initiative to foster civic engagement and ensure that voters are well-informed ahead of the upcoming elections.

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