Whitefish plans 'political picnic' for candidates

In the spirit of town-square gatherings that were stumping grounds for local politicians in America's early days, Whitefish is planning an old-fashioned "Politics in the Park" event on Tuesday, Oct. 4.

Sponsored by the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce, the candidate forum will run from 5 to 8 p.m. at Depot Park. It will be held in the Oktoberfest tent if it's raining. It's free to the public, and food and drinks will be offered for sale.

From 5 to 6:30 p.m. candidates will meet with local residents and business owners and talk one-on-one about local issues. Starting at about 6:30 to 7:15 p.m., each candidate will have five minutes to make a "stump speech" to the crowd.

Following the speeches, Chamber officials will distribute sample ballots and conduct a straw poll of everyone in attendance to gauge their preferences in the City Council, mayoral and gubernatorial races.

Candidates for Whitefish City Council and mayor, as well as all of the declared candidates for governor, have been invited. All of the council candidates have confirmed, Chamber Director Kevin Gartland said.

Mayoral candidate Turner Askew will attend and his challenger, John Muhlfeld, is trying to arrange his schedule so he can attend. Republican gubernatorial candidates Corey Stapleton and Neil Livingstone have confirmed and several others are expected to be there.

"We're hopeful that this event and the televised candidate's forums we have scheduled for later in the month will help local voters make an informed decision based on where candidates stand on the issues, rather than on hype, hysteria and attack-oriented rhetoric," Gartland said.