Candidates vying for elected city positions gathered at the Starkville Sportsplex on Thursday night, with much of the conversation centering on the youth of Starkville.
Questions asked to candidates ranged from how to get young people involved in local government to how city government can be involved in providing non-athletic programs for local children, including those with disabilities.
Topics discussed also touched on keeping taxes low, infrastructure issues, city funding, economic development and accessibility.
For the first half of the event, candidates answered questions formed by event organizers, while the second half of the forum was dedicated to questions from the audience.
All three mayoral candidates were present and participated in the forum: Johnny Moore, Damion Poe and Lynn Spruill.
Those in attendance running for aldermen seats included, Ward 1: Ben Carver (incumbent), Jason Camp, and Christine Williams, Ward 2: Sandra Sistrunk, Lisa Wynn (incumbent) and Jesse Carver, Ward 4: Pete Ledlow and Jason Walker (incumbent), Ward 5: Chase Neal, Patrick Miller and Kayla Gilmore, and Ward 7: Henry Vaughn, Sr. (incumbent) and Robin Dawkins.
The forum was sponsored by the Delta Upsilon Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, incorporated and Pi Iota Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated.
WCBI’s Shawn Hannah served as the forum’s moderator.
The Starkville Daily News provided a Facebook Live stream during the event and posted the full video to the SDN Facebook page. To watch the video, visit https://www.facebook.com/starkville.daily/