The upcoming  Nov. 4  Beaufort City Council and S.C. State Superintendent of Education races will be spotlighted during two political forums, which are being sponsored by the The Burton-Dale-Beaufort Branch NAACP in collaboration with the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce and  The Gullah Sentinel.

Former Beaufort County School Board Chairman Fred S. Washington, Jr. — who was the last African-American to serve on Beaufort’s City Council — will serve as the moderator for the Beaufort City Council candidates forum It will be held at the Technical College of the Lowcountry’s Bldg. 12, on Monday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m., according to Burton-Dale-Beaufort NAACP President Darryl T. Murphy.

Gullah Festival of South Carolina co-founder Charlotte Pazant Brown, and retired educator and community activist George Singleton will serve as panelists for the much-watched, non-partisan battle over two seats between Beaufort City Council candidates Phil Comer, Stephen Murray, former Mayor Bill Rauch, and incumbent City Councilwoman Donnie Beer.

And on Tuesday Oct. 28 at 6 p.m., former Beaufort County School District Superintendent Herman K. Gaither will be the moderator of the S.C. State Superintendent of Education forum. It will also be held in TCL’s Bldg. 12.

Panelists for the event will be S.C. State NAACP Executive Director Dwight James, and popular  Beaufort County educator Dr. Valerie Jackson.

All three candidates for the office — Democrat Dr. Tom Thompson, Republican Molly Spearman, and the American Party’s Ed Murray — have accepted invitations to attend the forum, according to Clarence Daniel, Chairman of the NAACP’s Political Action Committee.

Both forums will be free, and open to the public. For more information, contact NAACP President Darryl T. Murphy at 843-271-0376.
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