Candidates in three local races with contested primaries will field questions from The Lincoln County News and the public during forums the next two Thursdays.
The forums will air from 6-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 4 and Thursday, June 11.
The first forum will feature the Democratic and Republican candidates for Maine House District 88, as well as the Republican candidate for Maine House District 90.
Wayne Farrin, of Jefferson, and Christopher Hamilton, of Whitefield, are running for the Democratic nomination in House District 88. Elizabeth Doyle, of Whitefield, and Michael Lemelin, of Chelsea, are running for the Republican nomination.
House District 88 is Chelsea, Jefferson, part of Nobleboro, and Whitefield.
Merle Parise, of Newcastle, is the sole candidate for the Republican nomination in House District 90. Parise was invited to participate in the June 11 forum with the Democratic candidates for District 90, but will attend the first forum instead due to a scheduling conflict.
The second forum will feature the Democratic candidates for House District 90 and for county commissioner in District 3.
Lydia Crafts, of Newcastle, David Levesque, of Newcastle, and Wendy Pieh, of Bremen, are running for the Democratic nomination in District 90.
House District 90 is Bremen, Bristol, Damariscotta, Monhegan, Newcastle, part of Nobleboro, and part of South Bristol.
Jane Langdon-Gray, of Newcastle, and incumbent County Commissioner Mary Trescot, of Damariscotta, are running for the Democratic nomination for county commissioner in District 3. The Republicans do not have a candidate in the race.
District 3 is Alna, Damariscotta, Dresden, Jefferson, Newcastle, Somerville, and Whitefield, as well as the unorganized territory of Hibbert’s Gore.
While voters cannot attend the forums in person due to COVID-19 precautions, they will have a choice of methods by which to view the forums.
Lincoln County Television will livestream the first forum. Online viewers can watch at lctv.org or lcnme.com. LCTV will also broadcast the forum live on cable TV: Channel 7 for Tidewater Telecom customers and Channel 1301 for Spectrum customers.
Finally, viewers may watch the forum and submit questions live via the videoconference platform GoToMeeting. The GoToMeeting link is https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/851387229.
Due to logistical and technical challenges, LCTV will now record the June 11 forum at an earlier time for broadcast from 6-7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 11. The option to view and submit questions through GoToMeeting will not be available for this forum.
Viewers can watch by the same means: online at lctv.org or lcnme.com or on cable TV: Channel 7 for Tidewater Telecom customers and Channel 1301 for Spectrum customers.
Coverage of the forums will appear in the June 11 and June 18 editions of the LCN.
J.W. Oliver, editor of the LCN, will moderate the forums. Oliver and the candidates will gather in person at the LCTV studio in Newcastle, with physical distancing in place.
Oliver will ask the candidates questions of his own and select questions from the public. To submit a question in advance, email joliver@lcnme.com. Anyone who submits a question should include their name and town of residence.
Voters will decide the races in the state primary and referendum election July 14.
The forums will take place more than a month before the election because the state is encouraging voters to cast absentee ballots due to health concerns. They can do so as soon as mid-June.
