LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF HOUSTON – EDUCATION FUND
4001 N. Shepherd Drive, Suite 213 Houston TX 77018
713-784-2923 lwv@lwvhouston.org www.lwvhouston.org
Christina Gorczynski, Executive Director
Office: 713-784-2923
Email: director@lwvhouston.org
Linda W. Cohn, President
Office: 713-784-2923
Mobile: 713-898-7971
Email: president@lwvhouston.org
For immediate release: September 18, 2011
It’s Election Season!
The League of Women Voters of Houston Education Fund
sponsors a comprehensive series of City of Houston Candidate Debates.
REVISED DEBATE SCHEDULE
The League of Women Voters of Houston Education Fund is pleased to announce that we will sponsor a comprehensive series of one-hour Candidate Debates covering all contested municipal election races on the November 2011 General Election ballot. All declared candidates were invited to participate in their respective debates; some may choose not to attend.
We are committed to providing our community with helpful resources that will encourage an informed choice on Election Day and we believe that the Municipal Candidate Debate Series is an important element of this outreach.
The Municipal Candidates Debates Series will be telecast live from the studios of Houston MediaSource TV on Thursday evenings starting on September 8. The programs may be viewed on the Houston MediaSource TV website (www.hmstv.org), on Comcast Channel 17 or on AT&T Uverse Channel 99. There is no studio audience for the debate. However, members of the media are cordially invited to watch the debates from a remote viewing area within the Houston MediaSource Building (410 Roberts Street).
Ernie Manouse will serve as moderator for all debates. Mr. Manouse, a three-time Emmy winner, hosts the popular “InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse” series broadcast locally on Houston PBS.
The format of the city council debates is designed to be fair, informative and lively:
OPENING
Candidates will be asked to introduce themselves in one sentence.
ROUND 1 (approximately 3 questions per candidate, approximately 22 minutes)
In rotation, the moderator will ask each candidate a question. That candidate will have up to 60 seconds to respond. At the discretion of the moderator, either all of the other candidates, or none of the other candidates, will be asked to give a 30 second rebuttal response. The rotation continues until the segment times out.
ROUND 2 (approximately 5 minutes)
During this “getting to know you” segment the moderator will ask each candidate a question about how his or her own life or background serve to inform his or her view of our community.
ROUND 3 (approximately 20 minutes)
During this portion selected topics will be introduced and turned over to the candidates for discussion. The moderator will keep the candidates on topic and make sure that the discussion advances smoothly.
CLOSING
Each candidate will be given up to 60 seconds for a Closing Statement.
Here’s our revised schedule, correct as of September 18, 2011.
September 8 Houston City Council Position 1 *View this debate at: http://vimeo.com/29184714
Houston City Council Position 3
*View this debate at: http://vimeo.com/29104725
September 22 Houston City Council District A 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District F 8:00 pm
September 29 Houston City Council District G 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District H 8:00 pm
October 6 Houston City Council Position 2 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District B 8:00 pm
October 13 Houston City Council District C 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District D 8:00 pm
October 20 Houston City Council District J 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District K 8:00 pm
October 22 Houston City Council Position 4 2:00 pm
Houston City Council Position 5 3:30 pm
October 27 Houston Mayor 6:30 pm
Houston City Council District I 8:00 pm