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The
Watauga County Democratic Party is going high-tech in an attempt
to reach voters before the general election in November.
The
party is holding live Internet broadcasts of a series of candidate
“town hall” meetings in August and September.
Local
party secretary Jerry Williamson said the meetings will be interactive,
allowing participation by not only those who attend, but also people
following the event on the Internet.
People
will be able to send e-mail questions from their computers to the
event and follow on the live broadcast.
The
event will feature live audio and video streams, though Williamson
said because of technical limitations, questions will be collected,
read by a moderator, then answered by a candidate.
“It’s
an attempt to make these candidates available to citizens to ask
questions and eyeball them and see how they answer,” Williamson
said.
“It’s
to make democracy work on a local level, as lively and effectively
as possible.”
The
first town hall meeting is scheduled for Aug. 5 at 7 p.m. at Parkway
Elementary School.
Democratic candidates taking part will include some or all of the
candidates for Watauga County Board of Commissioners, N.C. General
Assembly, and U.S. House of Representatives.
Other
party officials will answer questions related to national concerns
such as jobs, Medicare and social security, and budget deficits,
Williamson said.
All
three Democratic county commission candidates — Jimmy Deal,
Winston Kinsey, and William R. (Billy Ralph) Winkler — are
scheduled to attend the first meeting, as is District 93 House of
Representatives candidate Cullie Tarleton and N.C Senate candidate
Jim Cain.
L.D.
Hagaman Jr., former county commissioner and former Boone town manager,
will serve as moderator for the three scheduled town hall meetings.
Williamson said more dates may be added later if there is interest.
Those
wishing to participate in the live Internet broadcast will be able
to access the meeting and send e-mail questions to candidates through
an icon on the local party home page at www.WataugaDems.com.
Those
who want to follow the Web broadcast should have Windows Media Player
already installed on their machines before the broadcast begins.
Windows
Media Player can be downloaded free directly from the “Town
Hall Meetings” page on www.WataugaDems.com.
Williamson
said the events are open to all Democratic candidates and any citizen.
“We hope the Republican Party might do something similar but
this is our show,” he said. He said due to scheduling difficulties,
it’s unlikely statewide candidates will be able to attend the
meetings but they have been invited.
All
candidates might not be available at each town hall event, but Williamson
said as many as possible would attend. Two other town meetings are
scheduled for Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. at Mabel Elementary School and Sept.
2 at 7 p.m. at Valle Crucis Elementary School.
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