League to host candidate forums for Batavia, St. Charles, Geneva races

The League of Women Voters of Central Kane County are hosting a series of candidate forums for the April 1 consolidated election in contested races for Batavia, St. Charles and Geneva mayor and city council.

All three forums will be live, in-person, open to the public, live-streamed and available for later viewing on the websites of the League, lwvckcil.com and the Illinois Voter Guide illinoisvoterguide.org, according to a news release.

The St. Charles Mayor and City Council forum will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29 at the St. Charles Public Library, 1 S. Sixth Ave., St. Charles.

Candidates who were invited to participate are: Clint Hull and Lora Vitek for mayor; Ronald Silkaitis, Robert Kasper, Ryan Bongard, Angela Churchill, Vicki Spellman, Paul D. Lencioni, Carolyn Waibel, Steven Weber and Lauren Duddles for City Council.

The Batavia Mayor and City Council forum will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4 at Batavia City Hall, 100 N. Island Ave., Batavia.

Candidates who were invited to participate are: Thomas Connelly and Jeffery Schielke for mayor; Doug Eldrenkamp, Dustin Pieper, James Fahrenbach, Garran DeWain Sparks, Matthew Anderson and Kate Cuneo for City Council.

The Geneva Mayor and City Council forum will be held at noon Sunday, Feb. 9 at the Geneva Public Library, 227 S Seventh St., Geneva.

Candidates who were invited to participate are: Kevin Burns and Karsten Pawlik for mayor;Lee Eysturlid, Larry Furnish, Kevin Ziegler, Amy Mayer, Erin DiSilvestro, Patrice Bertheau, Jeff Palmquist and Kim Edwards for City Council.

All candidates will be allowed time at the beginning and at the end of their respective segments for opening and closing statements, according to the release.

During each segment, candidates will respond to audience questions submitted during registration and throughout the event. Audience members’ questions will be reviewed by League members for appropriateness prior to asking.

Patti Lackman, the Voter Service Chair for the League, stated in the release that these forums are an opportunity for voters to see and ask questions of the candidates.

“We encourage every candidate invited to these forums to participate fully,” Lackman stated in the release. “The League of Women Voters provides forums such as these as a service to the public. We are a non-partisan organization, and we never support or endorse candidates or political parties.”