CANDIDATES FORUM 2020 ON ZOOM, JULY 18Co-sponsors: Citizens for an Engaged Electorate
and North Central Florida Indivisible
Contact: Drollene Brown, 352-422-3561
July 6, 2020
The Candidates Forum for 2020 will come to the public via Facebook and You Tube on July 18, 5 to 9 P.M. All candidates who face opposition and appear on ballots in Levy County will be invited to appear.
The forum will be divided into two parts, streaming from 5 to 7 P.M. for state candidates and from to 7 to 9 P.M. for county candidates.
The program will remain available to the public on the same social media platforms after the live-streaming date.
Sponsored by Citizens for an Engaged Electorate (CEE) and North Central Florida Indivisible (NCFI)—both non-partisan, activist groups—the forum continues the tradition begun as a biennial event by the Williston Area AARP Chapter 912 several years ago. CEE joined AARP to co-sponsor the events in 2016 and 2018.
Hosting the event will be Lou Jones for CEE and Jyoti Parmer, Director for NCFI.
There are 18 candidates who will have opposition in the August primary and/or the November general elections. All have been invited to appear. They will be interviewed from their homes or offices on Zoom rather than in person as in previous years.
Due to time constraints with the virtual format, the eight candidates who are unopposed will not appear.
To access the forum for state candidates, from 5 to 7 P.M., go to https://www.facebook.com/events/1439285162925322/.
To access the forum for county candidates from, 7:30 to 9 P.M., go to https://www.facebook.com/events/309515556748668/.
Both forums will also be live-streamed on YouTube.
This year as in the past, the public is invited to submit questions to be put to the candidates. Deadline for sending questions is July 15. Please send your questions as soon as possible for the convenience of the co-hosts.
Please send questions for candidates to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and follow the instructions below.
Title your e-mail “questions for forum” and in your message, state the office and category of your question. If your question does not fit any category, write “other.” You may ask as many questions as you like, but each question must state the office and a category. Offices with opposing candidates and categories for questions follow:
County Commissioner
Economy, Infrastructure, Internet, Taxes, Tourism
Education, Community Resources
Enterprise Zones, Historic and Farm/Rural Preservation District
Environment, Trash and Recycling
COVID-19 response
Toll roads
School Board
Budget, Taxes, Allocation of Resources
Education, Performance Improvement
School Calendar, Length of Vacations
Standardized Tests and Students with Special Needs
Teacher Support and Resources
COVID-19 response, including meals for students
School Superintendent
Teacher Support and Resources
Budget, Taxes, Allocation of Resources
Education, Performance Improvement
School Calendar, Length of Vacations
Standardized Tests and Students with Special Needs
Tax Collector
A host will explain the duties of county tax collector, and each candidate will be given five minutes to describe her qualifications and vision for the job. However, you may send a question if you desire.
Soil and Water Conservation Board
Financial assistance for land owners
Demonstration projects & Educational workshops
Programs and Partnerships
Transparency and Accountability
Florida House
Economic development, Long term planning
Environment, Energy sources, Drilling
Infrastructure, Internet, Toll roads
Healthcare, Rural access, Medicaid
Unions, Ballot initiatives, Home rule, Equality
COVID-19 response
State Senator
Economic Development, Long term Planning
Environment, Energy Sources, Drilling
Infrastructure, Internet, Toll roads
Healthcare, Rural Access, Medicaid
Unions, Ballot initiatives, Home rule, Equality
COVID-19 response
State Attorney
Domestic violence, victim assistance, child advocacy
Homicide, capital punishment
Juvenile prosecutions
Mandatory Sentencing
Organized crime
Domestic violence, victim assistance, child advocacy
Homicide, capital punishment
Juvenile prosecutions
Mandatory Sentencing
Organized crime
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