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Commissioner debates
Taped debates moderated by the League of Women Voters of Thurston County will be posted on the Thurston Community Television Web site, www.tctv.net, approximately Thursday. The debates also will be broadcast in coming weeks on TCTV, Comcast Cable Channel 26. For a schedule of broadcast times, go to www.tctv.net or call 360-956-3100.
Candidate information
For more information on county candidates, go to www.co.thurston.wa.us/auditor/Elections/2008Elections/candidatediscl.htm.
For more information on statewide elections, go to www.vote.wa.gov.
The Olympian
TCTV gives candidates a forum
County Commission hopefuls talk about growth
By Keri Brenner | The Olympian
OLYMPIA – Growth issues and Thurston County budget problems took top priority Saturday at a forum among five candidates for county commissioner in the Aug. 19 primary.
The forum, moderated by League of Women Voters of Thurston County representative Marilyn Funk, included Democrats Lucius Daye, Jon Halvorson and Sandra Romero, Republican Robin Edmondson and Independent Bill Pilkey. All are vying for the District 2 county commission seat being vacated by longtime Commissioner Diane Oberquell.
District 2 covers the eastern third of Thurston County, including the cities of Lacey, Yelm and Rainier. The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 19 primary in District 2 will advance to the Nov. 4 general election, where they will compete for voters countywide.
The county commission forum, and similar programs for eight other local and state races in the Aug. 19 primary, were taped Saturday at Thurston Community Television studios in west Olympia. Some of the forums will be available as Webcasts on www.tctv.net at the end of the week.
All the forums will be broadcast on TCTV, Comcast Cable Channel 26, over the coming weeks.
For television broadcast information, go to the station's Web site or call the station at 360-956-3100.
Here's a sampling of the comments:
Growth
•Daye: Place a moratorium on growth in the outlying areas "until we get a better handle" on the situation and how to manage growth without destroying natural resources.
•Edmondson: Don't use the state Growth Management Act as a tool for special interests, because "we don't want to injure people now" to protect resources "100 years from now."
•Halvorson: Strike a balance between growth and environmental protection, and "allow the county Planning Commission to complete its review on designating lands of long-term agricultural significance," making sure the public weighs in.
•Pilkey: Ask people what they want for the future of Thurston County, and ask the public "how to accommodate the needs of 120,000 new residents" expected to move to Thurston County over the next few years.
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