Broken Arrow Chamber Of Commerce To Host City Council Candidate Forum

Broken Arrow residents will have the chance to hear from city council candidates ahead of the April 4th election.

The Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce invited all eight candidates to participate in a forum Thursday night.

President & CEO Jennifer Conway said the purpose is to make sure voters are well-informed. "On a day-to-day basis what happens on that city council can directly impact a citizens life every day and so being aware of who that candidate is and not just because you are picking a name on a list but understanding that they are going to represent what your values are is very important," she said.

In Ward 3, incumbent Christi Gillespie is being challenged by former Broken Arrow mayor Mike Lester. City councilor Scott Eudey will face Joe Franco in Ward 4 and at large has four candidates on the ballot: incumbent Johnnie Parks, George Ghesquire, Sonjia Potter, and William Vaughn.

Conway said the chamber has preselected questions that each candidate will be given a chance to answer. She said the questions are centered around business and economic development because the city council is vital to the health of a business community.

"A strong pro-business community, which Broken Arrow has been for many years, enables us to be attractive to new businesses in order to develop an environment in which a business has the freedom to make the choices they need to make," Conway continued saying, "It shows we are making the investments to support them both in infrastructure, street, and really publicizing our community and really taking good care of our community. Strong police and fire are also economic development and those are all decisions that are made on the local level."

The forum begins at 7 p.m. at Central on Main Ballroom at 210 N. Main Street in Broken Arrow. Conway said there will be opportunities both before and after the event to shake hands with each candidate and ask them questions. Those who cannot attend in person can also watch the forum on the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page.