Forum Scheduled for Candidates in State House Race

The following is a news release:

Candidates for the special election on June 21 to fill the vacant Georgia House District 113th seat are being invited to an election forum scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 8 at the auditorium in the in Watkinsville.

The three declared candidates, , and , have indicated they will attend, according to Lee Becker and Russ Page, two Oconee County citizens who have organized the candidate forum.

Candidates can begin filing documents with Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp at 9 a.m. on Monday, May 16. Qualifications end at noon on May 18.

Page and Becker said they will invite all candidates who qualify to participate in the forum.

Citizens will ask questions directly of the candidates, according to Becker and Page. The two will recognize questioners and make sure each candidate gets an equal time to respond.

Candidates who file and qualify can simply designate a party label to follow their name. Candidates also can decide to label themselves as Independent or run without any label.

The election will be held on June 21, with a runoff on July 19, if necessary.

Page and Becker organized a candidate forum following this same format in 2010 and joined with Oconee County citizens in organizing candidate forums in 2008.

Both are involved in civic affairs in Oconee County. Neither is active in a local political party.

The 113th House District consists of all of Oconee County and parts of Clarke, Morgan and Oglethorpe counties. The forum is open to citizens of all four counties.

Hank Huckaby, elected to represent the 113th District in 2010, resigned in April to become the of the University System of Georgia.

The Oconee County Library is at 1080 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville, 30677.