The Lynn Community Association (LCA) is pleased to present a series of candidate forums this summer in anticipation of a highly contested election cycle for the city of Lynn this November. Starting with the at-Large Councilor forum on Wednesday, July 10, 7PM, at the Temple Ahabat Shalom on Ocean St., forum moderator and publisher of the blog Lynnside Edition, Tom Sheehan, will ask the candidates questions culled from the Lynn community at-large.
The LCA has been sponsoring debates of this kind going on 4 years now. The format that seems to work best is to solicit questions from the general public via the press and internet. Once they have an idea of the pressing issues on peoples’ minds, the LCA will take what they think are the most penetrating questions and ask them of the candidates.
LCA President Mary Trahan says the forums are just one way to educate and inform citizens of the choices they have before they go to the polls. “The more times we can get candidates on the record for what they stand for, the more we can hold them accountable to what they say they’re going to do.”
“This election cycle bodes well for the citizens of Lynn,” said Trahan, a resident of Ward 3 for over 8 years. “Never before, have I seen so many new candidates for ward council, wards where there’s been no choice for as long as I’ve been here.”
Other forums in the series include:
Mayoral Candidates July 24 at 7PM
School Committee forum August 7 at 7PM
Ward Councilor forum August 21 at 7PM.
All forums will be held at the Temple Ahabat Shalom at 151 Ocean Street. Doors will open at 6:30 PM and the forums will begin at 7:00 PM. All forums are free and open to the public.
The school committee forum will be moderated by Lynn native and graduate of the Ford school and Wellesley College, Cleo Hereford, who writes about education, politics, history and psychology in her blog, An Education. The At-Large Councilor and Mayoral forums will be moderated by LCA former board member Thomas Sheehan, who has called Lynn home since 2004. LCA Board Member Tyron Hawkins, a former Lynn resident now living in Salem, will moderate the Ward Councilor forum. Hawkins works for Greater Lynn Senior Services, is known for his series of Building Community events and performs as Walnut da Lyrical Genie.
Questions can be submitted to the following addresses:
Lynn Community Association
PO Box 856, Lynn, MA 01903
lynncommunity@comcast.net
Additionally, a question submission form can be found at http://lynncommunity.org/?page_id=528. Please specify which forum your questions pertain to.
To be considered, questions must be addressable to all candidates and not directed to any one candidate in particular. Questions will remain anonymous.
The Lynn-side Edition 
Diane Statkum
July 7, 2013
Looks like you people are going to be busy until November….excellent idea to keep the citizens informed…