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Coffee Party of Clarksville held pre-election candidates forum

The Coffee Party of Clarksville, Tennessee working together with the Clarksville Branch of the NAACP, the Hispanic Organization for Progress & Education (HOPE), and the Korean American Association of Clarksville hosted a non-partisan Meet the Candidates Forum on Saturday October 9th 2010. Candidates running for Governor of TN, U.S. Congress, TN State House, Mayor for the City of Clarksville, & Clarksville City Council were invited to take part. Candidates from the Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party as well as Independent candidates for all of the elected positions were represented.

In all 30 candidates from as far away as Knoxville and Memphis addressed the crowd of over one hundred who were in attendance at G’s Pancake House restaurant on Riverside Drive. An extra table had to be set up to hold all of their campaign materials.

Mayoral Candidate Jeff Burkhart faces off with opponent Gabe Segovia
Mayoral Candidate Jeff Burkhart faces off with opponent Gabe Segovia

State Senator Tim Barnes is not up for reelection, however he attended and opened the forum offering words of encouragement for people to go to the polls and vote.

Each candidate was given 3 minutes to present their information and platform.

Hats off to Gubernatorial candidates Bill Haslam (R) and Mike McWherter (D) who both sent representatives to speak on their behalf, as they were unable to personally attend due to a major Gubernatorial debate held at the same time in Memphis, TN.

With outgoing Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper not running for reelection you could feel the excitement in the room when 6 of the 8 candidates who are running for mayor stepped into the spotlight.

Mayoral Candidate Kim McMillan
Mayoral Candidate Kim McMillan

Kim McMillan who served as the Tennessee House representative for the 67th district and as a senior adviser to outgoing Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, was strong in her presentation; but it was former two term city council member and former Vice Mayor pro-term Gabe Segovia who demonstrated the most knowledge when it came to the day to day operations of city government.

It was a great opportunity for the voters to hear from the independent candidates who were running for public office, in our system of government every voice is important!

Marc Harris, Candidate for Ward 6 of the Clarksville City Council
Marc Harris, Candidate for Ward 6 of the Clarksville City Council

The city council races is where the main action is in this election, 4 of the incumbents are literally running for their political careers; due to the controversial redevelopment plan that featured the use of eminent domain for private redevelopment. Marc Harris the City Councilman for ward 6, who did not vote in favor of the redevelopment plan elegantly stressed this fact to the forum attendees encouraging people to hold them accountable. This was met with a round of applause.

Most of the candidates chose to hang around after the forum for socializing and fellowship.

This event was not without several disappointments. Among them no shows were:

  • Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R) the incumbent for the 7th Congressional District
  • Stephen Fincher (R), candidate for the 8th Congressional District
  • Neil Revlett (R), candidate for the 67th District of the Tennessee State House
  • Representative Curtis Johnson (R), incumbent for the 68th District of the Tennessee State House
  • Representative Phillip Johnson (R), incumbent for the 78th District of the Tennessee State House

Event organizers contacted them by email, phone and U.S. mail, and so they made the choice not to show up for the forum.

This was not the case with their opponents, all of whom attended and spoke at the forum including:

  • Greg Rabidoux (D), candidate for the 7th Congressional District
  • Representative Joe Pitts (D), incumbent for the 67th District of the Tennessee State House
  • Brett Ramsey (D), candidate for the 68th District of the Tennessee State House
  • Danny Twork (D), candidate for the 78th District of the Tennessee State House
  • Matthew Fink who appeared on behalf of Roy Herron‘s (D) campaign for the 8th Congressional District

The forum was held to give the public an opportunity to hear the candidates’ views on the important issues affecting our community, and will help the voters make an more informed vote on Election Day. And of course free Coffee was served throughout the forum!

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