|| CAMPUS NEWS HOME

|| USF S-M IN THE NEWS

|| FACTS ABOUT USF S-M

|| CAMPUS EVENTS

|| RESOURCES FOR MEDIA

|| ONLINE NEWSLETTERS

|| OTHER USF SOURCES

:: Alumni Association

:: Bay Bulletin
:: Board of Trustees
:: Quick Facts
:: The Oracle (student
:: newspaper)
:: President's Office

:: USF Athletics

:: USF Magazine

:: USF Lakeland 
:: USF St. Petersburg
:: USF Tampa

:: WUSF

:: Online News Searches

Students at USF Sarasota-Manatee to host forum for state and federal political candidates 

SARASOTA, FL (April 27, 2006) – This Saturday, April 29, the College Democrats and College Republicans at USF Sarasota-Manatee will host their first Candidate Forum at the Hamilton Teaching Auditorium (HCL 8) located at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus. The campus is located just north of University Parkway and Tamiami Trail in Sarasota. 

The event, which is open to the public, will be from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and will feature 12 candidates for the U.S. Congress and the State House of Representatives. 

According to student organizers, this event will be the first opportunity for the public to speak to all candidates at once, and for most of the candidates to speak with each other. 

“I think the USF political organizations are having an important event that other organizations are not having,” said Ashley Baia, President of the College Democrats.  “As a student, the Forum gives me the opportunity to hear from the future leaders of our state and country.  Someone in that room will be heading to Tallahassee or Washington D.C., and it gives me the opportunity to make an educated decision.” 

To help them make that decision, each candidate at the Forum will be given three minutes to introduce themselves to the audience.  Next, questions that have been previously submitted by members of the audience will be drawn at random, and each candidate will have two minutes to answer the question.  After 45 minutes the candidates will each give a closing statement and be available for informal group discussion.  At this time the audience will have access to informational literature provided by the candidates. 

Baia, a Political Science and International Relations major at USF Sarasota-Manatee, is excited about the Candidate Forum and hopes that it will become an annual event. 

“The Forum gives local citizens a chance to ask questions about issues that are important to them,” she said.  “I think it is important for opinions from all sides to be present in political discussion.” 

The primary election will be held on September 5 and the general election on November 7.  For more information about the Candidate Forum, contact Anne Dobson at (941)359-4268 or click here.

USF Sarasota-Manatee is an upper-level campus for those with an associate’s or bachelor’s degree who are interested in earning a baccalaureate or master’s degree, professional certification or continuing education credit. The regional campus offers the prestige of a national Research I university with the convenience of a hometown campus, including classes in south Sarasota County at MCC Venice.  

Below is a list of candidates who will be attending the Candidate Forum on April 29, 2006: 

For U.S. Congress District 13:

            Christine Jennings, Democrat

Mike Lafevers, Democrat

Jan Schneider, Democrat

Tramm Hudson, Republican
Nancy Detert, Republican 

State Representative District 69:

            Keith Fitzgerald, Democrat

Laura Benson, Republican 

State Representative District 70:

            David Shapiro, Democrat   

Jon Kleiber, Republican
Rory Dubin, Republican
Doug Holder, Republican
 

State Representative District 71:

            Richard Santos, Republican