Patch Hosting City Council Candidate Forum

Got questions for any of the seven candidates vying for a spot on the New Port Richey City Council?

Your chance to ask them is coming up.

New Port Richey Patch is holding its inaugural city council candidate forum this month, and you’re invited to come and get your questions answered.

The forum is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on March 20 in the City Council Chambers on the first floor of City Hall, 5919 Main St.

Last month, a Patch reader told us he “Would love if the Patch hosts an open town hall-type forum where city residents can ask the candidates questions and hear their ideas for the city."

We thought it was an interesting idea and decided to ask the public whether we should hold a forum. We got an overwhelming number of responses indicating we should.

What can we say, we live to serve...

We’re happy to announce the March 20 candidate forum.  All seven candidates have been invited to participate in it.

The forum will be moderated by Pasco historian Jeff Cannon, who has written a column on Pasco history for New Port Richey and Land O' Lakes Patch sites. He is the author of "New Port Richey Now and Then", a book about the town's history. He also wrote “Images of America, Hudson”, which is about his hometown of Hudson.

The forum is an opportunity for candidates to get acquainted with residents and answer their questions. Candidates will be invited to give a brief introduction at the forum, and then residents will have the opportunity to ask their questions.

Be sure to get there early. We’ll be asking attendees to write note cards with questions to ease the flow of the forum.

There are two seats open in the April 9 election.

New Port Richey Patch will also be streaming live video from the forum on the site.

The city will be broadcasting the forum on its cable channels: Bright House Channel 615 and Verizon FIOS Channel 20.

We also would like to collect questions from the public before the event. Add them to the comments section on this article, or post them as a blog right here on Patch.

All seven candidates are planning to attend. They are:

• Chopper Davis
• Bob Langford
• Michael Malterer
• Ginny Miller
• Rose M. Mohr
• Jeff Starkey
• Jonathan Tietz