Several recent [letters] in this column [Your View] have asserted that more information is needed about candidates for local offices. Certainly, voters need to be informed if they are to be expected to vote!
For over 65 years the League of Women Voters of the Plymouth Area has strived to provide the citizens of Plymouth with such information. The League has conducted candidates’ forums for contested elections every year, and this year was no exception. The forums (one for Planning Board and one for School Committee) were held live, broadcast, and streamed. The videos of the events were then made available on YouTube and at our website PlymouthLWV.org. Both Planning Board candidates participated as did 4 of the 5 school committee candidates (the 5th was out of town).
Last year we initiated a Voters Guide section for local candidates on our website and invited all those who were on the ballot to participate, including Town Meeting candidates. Many of the major candidates did indeed fill out our short questionnaire, as did a smaller portion of Town Meeting candidates. We would be happy to entertain suggestions for improving the questions we pose.
Notice of our events was posted on Facebook and other sites, but again, we would appreciate ideas of how to better get this information into the hands of our voters.
The videos of the latest candidates’ forums are still available on our website as are reports from our Observer Corps members for the Charter Review Committee, the School Committee and the Community Preservation Committee.
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political membership organization whose goal is to empower citizens to shape better communities nationwide.
Lyle Lawrence
Lawrence is a board member of the League of Women Voters of the Plymouth Area.