Vanderbilt and three other Nashville organizations will join forces Aug. 20 to host a forum for the 10 at-large runoff candidates vying for five open seats on the Metro Council.
The contenders are Councilwoman Karen Bennett, Erin Coleman, John Cooper, Councilman Robert Duval, Councilwoman Erica Gilmore, Councilman Jason Holleman, Sharon Hurt, Councilman Lonnell Matthews, Bob Mendes and Jim Shulman.
Blake Farmer, host and assistant news director of WPLN, will serve as moderator of the forum.
The public event, sponsored by Belmont-Hillsboro Neighbors, Hillsboro-West End Neighbors, Belmont University and Vanderbilt University, will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Community Room of Belmont United Methodist Church at 2007 Acklen Ave. in Hillsboro Village.
“We believe it is important for the public to have opportunities to learn first-hand about the views and perspectives of candidates running for public office,” said Mary Pat Teague, associate director of Community, Neighborhood and Government Relations at Vanderbilt.
“We are delighted to be joining together to provide this informative resource to Nashville’s voters,” added Joyce Searcy, director of community relations for Belmont University.
The forum will be videotaped for later airing on the Nashville Education, Community and Arts Television community access channel and made available for public viewing online on YouTube, www.hwen.org and www.belmont-hillsboro.com.
The general runoff election for Nashville and Davidson County is set for Sept. 10. Early voting begins Aug. 21 through Aug. 26 at the Howard Office Building, then from Aug. 27 through Sept. 5 at all regular early voting locations.