CoMoBUZ will produce March 13 and March 20 events

A bipartisan coalition of interested citizens from Columbia have come together to host two separate election forums that will promote debate among candidates seeking election to the Columbia City Council and the Columbia Public School board in the April municipal elections. 

Debate Night will take place at Bush Auditorium in Cornell Hall at 700 Tiger Avenue on the University of Missouri campus. The first event will be for Columbia City Council candidates on Monday, March 13. The second event will be for Columbia Public School Board candidates on Monday, March 20. Both events will begin at 6:30 p.m. 

The events will follow a hybrid forum/debate format. Debate Night will be produced by CoMoBUZ and moderated by CoMoBUZ publisher Mike Murphy. 

“Getting voters the information they need to make important decisions is one of the great challenges in local elective politics,” Murphy said. “We hope to provide an inviting forum for rival candidates to engage and discuss their differences. Our goal is to improve voters’ knowledge of the candidates and increase participation in the election.” 

The debates will be professionally recorded and distributed on multiple social and media platforms after the event. All local media organizations are welcome to attend and cover the debates. Attendance is open and free to all citizens. 

The March 13 event will include candidates running for election to the Columbia City Council from Ward 1 and Ward 5. The March 20 event will include the seven candidates seeking election to three seats on the Columbia Public Schools Board of Education. 

Free parking is available at the nearby Turner Avenue parking garage.