Madison Cawthorn and Moe Davis will join a diverse panel of guests for the candidates’ first public debates at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, and Saturday, Sept. 5.
The first event, to be held at Western Carolina University’s Biltmore Park instructional site, will feature questions by Aisha Adams, Lenoir-Rhyne University Equity and Diversity Institute developer; Mark Barrett, former Asheville Citizen Times political reporter and current Mountain Xpress contributor; and Pete Kaliner, longtime North Carolina political reporter, radio host and podcaster. Topics will include international, national, state and urban issues.
The second event, to be held at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, will include Chris Cooper, WCU political science and public affairs department chair; Edward Lopez, WCU professor of economics and director of WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise; and Principal Chief Richard G. Sneed of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Topics will include rural issues, native issues and education.
Due to venue capacity limits currently in place, events will not be open to the public but will be livestreamed at facebook.com/blueridgepublic. The event is presented by Smoky Mountain News, Blue Ridge Public Radio and Mountain Xpress.
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