Upcoming Education Forums for Columbia Municipal, Special Elections

From the City of Columbia

Education forums regarding the Nov. 5 Municipal Election and the Dec. 3 special election have been scheduled for the public to receive information on the upcoming election.

The schedule can be viewed below:

Wednesday, October 2, 2013 

12:00-1:00 p.m. - Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church, 1005 Asbury Drive, Columbia, SC 29209

5:15-6:15 p.m. - Heathwood Park, 800 Abelia Road; Columbia, SC 29205.

These sessions will focus solely on voter registration, voter identification, absentee voting and other related topics. The presentations will be conducted by the League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area. See attached agenda for details.

Thursday, October 3 – 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area will host a Public Information Forum on the Forms and Powers of Municipal Government in South Carolina at the USC Law School Auditorium, 701 S. Main Street, Columbia, SC 29208.

The forum will be a lecture style format presented by Scott Slatton, Legislative and Public Policy Advocate, Municipal Association of SC.  General information will be provided on the forms of municipal government, including functional responsibility and powers and roles of each form.  A Q&A session to answer questions from the audience will follow the presentation.

Thursday, October 17 – 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The League of Women Voters of the Columbia Area will host a Panel Discussion on the Pros and Cons of each Form of Government at the USC Law School Auditorium, 701 S. Main Street, Columbia, SC 29208.  

Rita Paul, immediate past president of the League of Women Voters of Columbia will be the moderator of the panel.  The panelists are:

• Jon Pierce, Retired Associate Director of Governmental Research and Service, USC Institute for Public Service and Policy Research
• Gary Cannon, Executive Director, SC Workers Compensation Commission
• Diane Sumpter, President and CEO, DESA, Inc.
• James Felder, author and President, South Carolina Voter Education Project 

Each panelist will be given equal time to provide opening and closing remarks.  The moderator will pose questions prepared by the Columbia League to each side of the panel, with opportunity given to the other side for rebuttal.  Responses to questions and rebuttals will also be timed.  Written questions from the audience will be posed by the moderator to the panelists prior to closing remarks.

For additional information contact the City Clerk’s Office at 803-545-3045, by email at cityclerk@columbiasc.net or visit online at www.columbiasc.net/elections.

See the attached document or click here for more information about the forms of government. For a full list of candidates, click here.