EFSC Hosting Candidate Forums for 2018 Elections

Eastern Florida State College, Florida Today and the League of Women Voters of the Space Coast will host a series of candidate forums at the college starting this month that will provide the public a front row seat on major issues in the 2018 elections.

The sessions will be at the Simpkins Fine Arts Center on the Cocoa Campus and King Center for the Performing Arts on the Melbourne Campus.

They will include 11 races for the Brevard County Commission, Brevard County School Board, Florida Legislature and U.S. Congress.

“An informed citizenry is necessary for our democracy to thrive, and the forums are an excellent way for voters to see the candidates in person and hear their views,” said college President Dr. Jim Richey. “We are proud to participate and welcome everyone to the college.”

The forums are free and open to the public and all college students, faculty and staff.

They will be broadcast live on WEFS-TV and streamed on floridatoday.com. Florida Today Public Affairs and Engagement Editor Isadora Rangel will be the moderator.

Here is the schedule:
• Wednesday, July 25, Simpkins Center, Cocoa Campus
Brevard School Board: District 1 & 2, 7 p.m.; District 5, 8 p.m.

• Tuesday, Aug. 7, Simpkins Center, Cocoa Campus
Brevard County Commission: District 2, 7 p.m.; District 4, 8 p.m.

• Wednesday, Aug. 8, Simpkins Center, Cocoa Campus
Florida House of Representatives: District 51, 7 p.m.; District 52, 8 p.m.

• Monday, Sept. 17, Simpkins Center, Cocoa Campus
Florida Senate, District 14, 7 p.m.

• Monday, Oct.22, Simpkins Center, Cocoa Campus
U.S. Congress, Florida District 8: 7 p.m.

The campaign season will end with live Election Night coverage Nov. 6 from the WEFS studio with Rangel and Eastern Florida State College political science professor Chris Muro providing results and analysis.

The forums continue a partnership between the college, Florida Today and community groups that began in 2004 that has brought hundreds of candidates to the college to discuss local, state and national issues.

EFSC has also opened its doors to presidential campaigns on four occasions in the past decade.

In 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain both campaigned at the college during their race for the White House. Obama held a rally on the Titusville Campus, and McCain did the same on the Melbourne Campus.

In 2012, former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich also brought the presidential contest to the college.

Clinton campaigned for President Obama on the Palm Bay campus during the general election, and Gingrich campaigned on the Cocoa campus as a candidate in the Florida Republican Presidential Primary.

For more information on the 2018 forums, contact John Glisch, Associate Vice President for Communications, at glischj@easternflorida.edu or (321) 433-7017.