An upcoming GOP gubernatorial candidate forum sponsored by the St. Clair County Republican Party will feature contenders Darren Bailey, Paul Schimpf, Max Solomon, Jesse Sullivan and Gary Rabine.
Conservative radio talk show host Annie Frey, 97.1 FM, will moderate the forum, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 14 at the Hofbrauhaus in Belleville.
County GOP chair Cheryl Mathews said candidate Richard Irvin, considered a front runner after having raised $22 million in the first quarter, indicated recently that he had a prior obligation as mayor of Aurora and will not attend..
She said the event is not intended to be a debate.
"We want the issues to be front and center, not who did what to whom, when," she said. "That is not productive for educating the voters."
The forum is free. A reception at 10 a.m. preceding the event costs $50. More information can be found here.
Mathews indicated that enthusiam among St. Clair County voters is high.
And voters appear to be motivated by the same set of issues highlighted in national news coverage.
"People are tired of the entrenched ideas in local government and in our schools," Mathews said. "Parents are getting involved. Parents want to be parents to their children, not the school infringing on parental rights."
She said local voters were "stirred up" last fall by elections that took place elsewhere in the country, which included the trouncing of Democrat Terry McAuliffe by Republican Glenn Youngkin for the Virginia governorship.
The Youngkin-McAuliffe race motivated parents of public school students, outraged by school curriculum, to come out in big numbers.
"Parents are looking at school boards and realizing those municipal elections affect their home and neighborhood more than the presidential race," Mathews said. "I have had parents calling asking about running for school board. There could be a lot of turnover in the next election cycle.
"Our message is a voter must get involved to make changes for the good; not just at the ballot box but in talking with neighbors."