Meet and greet slated for July 21 at The Commons

The primaries are a month away, and the list of candidates is pretty long. Figuring out who is who and what their goals are can be difficult for voters wanting to make an informed decision. That is why Powell Economic Partnership rounded up as many candidates as possible for a candidate meet-and-greet.

On July 21, about 20 candidates for everything from city council on up to U.S. House of Representatives will convene at The Commons from 5:30-8 p.m. to meet with the public — giving voters an opportunity to get to know them and their stances on various issues.

“I think what is interesting is to have the range from mayor to the U.S. House,” said Christine Bekes, executive director of PEP. “You have the micro to the macro, definitely, and the position on issues you can run the gamut — but at the core, and what really inspires me, is we all have the same priorities. We want the best for our children and beautiful communities and environments — that is a given — but we have different perspectives on how to get there.”

Every candidate who could be reached was invited to join in, and the public can expect to meet candidates running for Powell City Council, Park County Commission, House Districts 25, 26 and 50 as well as U.S. House candidates from the Democratic, Republican and Constitutionalist parties.

As of Tuesday, about 20 candidates confirmed they will be at the meet and greet.

“I am appreciative of all the candidates putting their name in the hat, because in today’s day and age, with social media, there can be some not-nice things said,” Bekes said. “It can be scary to run for public office and to run is commendable. But as voters, we have to inform ourselves and cast an informed vote.”

The meet-and-greet will take a break at 6:15 p.m. to give each candidate time to introduce themselves, talk about their campaign and answer a question that was prepared in advance about government’s role in economic and business development.

“That is broad and I am expecting a broad range of responses,” Bekes said. “They will have a limited time because we have so many candidates coming.”

The majority of the evening will be time for people to meet the candidates themselves, she said.

One of the building blocks of economic development is having a foundation of solid leadership, particularly with civil leadership and governmental policies, Bekes said.

“For the work I do, it is important to have effective leaders,” she said.

PEP decided to host the meet-and-greet because there really wasn’t an event in Powell for all of the candidates to come together for the community to meet them, Bekes said.

“I had a number of candidates ask how to connect with Powell, and I thought there is the fair and some smaller events. But we don’t have the Stampede or anything like Cody does, so to connect is difficult. This was an opportunity for us to step up,” Bekes said.

Candidates have arranged individual meet-and-greets as well, but word didn’t get out too well and people would miss out on the chance to chat, she said.

“People are very excited to meet with candidates face-to-face and they were thankful we are putting it on,” Bekes said.

“This is pretty unique,” she said, noting that other organizations have held, or plan to hold, forums on a smaller scale. “When they meet the candidates, they can ask about whatever issue is important to them.”

“One thing that is true in Wyoming, and certainly in Powell, is we value relationships and face-to-face meetings, so getting to know the candidates on a personal level is important and that opportunity is there for the meet-and-greet,” Bekes said.

There’s no cost to attend the meet-and-greet and Bekes said she is planning to have around 100 residents attend, but hopes for more than that.

“The response I have gotten is really good because there aren’t opportunities to meet these candidates otherwise,” she said. “I expect a good turnout and a good time to connect with others in the community. We recognize that, in the small communities, that relationships are very important to build with the candidates.”

Powell Mayor

City Council

Commissioner

House District 25

House District 50

House District 26

U.S. House