Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Haverford Township candidates' forum is set

    by Ashley Nguyen
    Published 

For every local election, the Haverford Township League of Women Voters organizes a candidates' forum, but until Thursday it seemed unlikely this year's event would take place.

LWV President Kate deRiel began preparing for the forum in September, as she always does. She contacted the heads of the Haverford Township Democratic and Republican parties and proposed a few possible dates. But she only heard back from the Democratic side.

LWV is non-partisan, and she couldn't have a candidates' forum with just the Democrats. In her third year as president, deRiel reached out to past league members and LWV in other townships.

"It came as a surprise," deRiel said. "We've always had trouble, but not like this. The woman who used to organize this didn't know what to advise me at all."

Slowly, deRiel started to hear Republican candidates running for commissioner didn't even know about her efforts to put together a forum. She sent out a letter to the candidates directly this time, with two possible dates, and heard back from a lot of people.

In the end, she secured the Lynnewood Elementary School auditorium for Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. Now, she is scrambling to find moderators, let Haverford Township residents know and find a cameraperson to film the forum for the local government channel.

Candidates who can't make it the first night will have the opportunity to discuss their platforms on the following date, as long as there are representatives from both parties, deRiel said.

"The League of Women Voters feel it's really important to have this as a service to the community," deRiel said.

Citing the new YMCA scheduled to be built on Eagle Road and Bartowski Investment Group's attempt to erect billboards in the township, deRiel said there are definitely things to talk about.

"These are little issues, but they affect everyone in the township," she said.

The candidates' forum is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 27 and 28 at Lynnewood Elementary School, 1400 Lawrence Rd., from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.