Badger Club sponsors 2 online Tri-Cities candidate forums

Two free online candidate forums featuring candidates for the Benton County Commission and the 4th Congressional District are scheduled for early October.

They were organized by the Columbia Basin Badger Club which provides nonpartisan community discussions on current issues.

The first at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, will feature 4th District candidate Doug McKinley, a Democrat.

Incumbent Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican, is not participating.

“We delivered a formal invitation to the Newhouse campaign in July,” said Badger Club President Kirk Williamson. “We made it clear we would present the forum even if one candidate did not participate. We don’t believe one candidate should be able to cut off the voters’ right to hear from the candidates directly.”

The second virtual form for the Benton County Commission race for District 1 is at noon Thursday, Oct. 8.

Incumbent Commissioner Jerome Delvin is facing challenger Justin Raffa.

Delvin, a Republican, received 1,620 fewer votes in the primary election than Democratic challenger Raffa, who received 33 percent of the vote. However, the multiple Republican candidates together received almost 67 percent of the votes cast.

Raffa has said he wants more transparency by the three-member board, better communication with the public and a balanced response to budget deficits caused by the pandemic. He said the board also needs to trust science and health officials in making its decisions to reopen the county.

Delvin has said he wants to continue close oversight of the county’s troubled sheriff’s department and to work closely with state and county health officials as the county reopens.

In the congressional race, McKinley, a lawyer making his second run for the position, has said he wants a more equitable economy, clean energy and healthcare not tied to employment.

He won 26 percent of the primary vote to Newhouse’s 57 percent.

The free candidate forums will be on Zoom, and viewers can submit questions for the candidates during the presentations.

Advance registration is required by going to the club’s website, www.columbiabasinbadgers.com.