Charlotte election 2011: Charlotte mayor and city council candidates' forum

From an email from our friends in Coventry Woods, here are the details about Thursday night's candidate forum at Amity Presbyterian Church:

WHAT: Charlotte’s mayoral and at-large City Council candidates in the general election will field questions before the leaders of 17 or more East Charlotte neighborhood and civic organizations.

WHEN: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Johnson Hall, at Amity Presbyterian Church. The church is on the corner of Pierson Drive and North Sharon Amity Road – on North Sharon Amity between Independence Boulevard and Albemarle Road. The church is easy to spot. Johnson Hall is on Pierson Drive, the side street there. There is ample parking.


ABOUT THE EVENT: The East Charlotte Forum – also held in 2005, 2007 and 2009 – is the prime opportunity for citywide candidates in the general election to answer questions before the leadership and key members of neighborhood groups and other civic associations in East Charlotte. They are among the most influential voters in East Charlotte.

Groups participating include the Coventry Woods, Winterfield, Country Club Heights, Grove Park, Marlwood, Birnam Woods, Windsor Park, Merry Oaks, Brandywine, Shamrock Hills, Eastwood Acres, Idlewild Farms, Ravenwood and Plaza Eastway Partners neighborhood associations; Charlotte East Community Partners (CECP), Eastland Area Strategies Team (EAST) and Eastside Political Action Committee (E-PAC). Additional co-sponsors will be added in follow-up press releases.

This forum offers candidates the opportunity to answer questions of paramount interest to the eastern quarter of the city. The forum, with mayoral and at-large City Council candidates, begins at 7 p.m. sharp. It will last no later than 9 p.m.

At the forum, candidates will be asked identical questions and given an allotted time in which to respond.

The mayoral candidates will be be first. At-large candidates will field questions after the mayoral segment of the evening.

NEW THIS YEAR: This year, an optional after-forum event has been added: At 9 p.m., candidates and those in attendance are invited to continue their meet-and-greet and discussions at Steamer’s Bar & Grill, a family-friendly restaurant and pub several doors down Pierson, between North Sharon Amity and Albemarle. Steamer’s is providing complementary hors d’oeuvres for all who come.