By Representative Shannon Erickson

I am pleased to announce a series of public Town Hall forums for the candidates for the First Congressional District special election, the seat recently vacated by U. S. Senator Tim Scott.  There are currently five evenings reserved for two candidates each night to attend, introduce themselves and answer questions from the public.  Each candidate will be on stage for an hour, either 6 until 7 p.m. or 7 to 8 p.m.

Dates for these Town Halls are:

• Thursday, January 31

• Monday February 4

• Thursday, February 7

• Monday, February 18

• Thursday, February 21

More dates will be added if the number of candidates exceeds the time slots available. The forums will be open to all candidates regardless of party affiliation and are not debates but rather opportunities for the public to be clearly informed on the candidate’s background, experience, stance on issues and vision of representation of our area.

The specific candidates for each evening will be announced as soon as they are all confirmed and each Town Hall meeting will be held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry Auditorium off Ribaut Road in Beaufort. In the event of a run-off, another Town Hall will be added for the candidates in that election.