School board candidate forum canceled

The League of Women Voters of Sussex Highlands has canceled the candidates forum for contestants in the Sparta Board of Education election.

It had been scheduled for Oct. 17.

Chad Wood, Jennifer Grana and Kaitlin Gagnon, who are running on a slate, accepted the league’s invitation to participate in the forum but LeeAnn, Robert Meara, Dana Dumpert and Crista Keiling did not.

“The candidates forums are a key element of the league’s mission to promote an informed and engaged electorate. They are opportunities for voters to learn about who will be on their ballots. When a candidate decides not to participate, it is a lost opportunity for all voters,” said Kimberly Noel, president of the League of Women Voters of Sussex Highlands.

“A candidate declining an invitation to discuss the issues that matter most to voters is contrary to the public interest. It is the voters who are harmed and democracy suffers.”

The league takes no position on candidates for public office or on political parties. It works to encourage the informed and active participation of citizens in government and to increase understanding of major policy issues as well as influences public policy through education and advocacy.