York County Council candidates for District 6 will debate Thursday at Winthrop University.
Chairman Britt Blackwell, a Rock Hill eye doctor serving his first term, and Rock Hill businessman Gary Williams, running as a petition candidate, are vying for the district, which includes northern Rock Hill and Newport.
The debate will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Dina’s Place in the DiGiorgio Campus Center.
The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the John C. West Forum on Politics and Policy.
Mark Herring, dean of Winthrop’s Dacus Library, will moderate the debate, asking a series of questions to the two Republican candidates before taking questions from the audience.
Candidates will open with three-minute opening statements before questions begin.
Herring said his questions will tackle a range of topics including “jobs” which continue to be a topic that dominates discussions nationwide, he said.
Other questions will focus on leadership and why either candidate thinks he excels at it.
The role of county government and how best to provide services while keeping the burden on taxpayers low, the importance of public-private partnerships and questions about county assets such as Ebenezer Park and Lake Wylie will also be areas of focus.
Candidates will have 60 seconds to respond with a 30-second rebuttal.
Herring also will take questions from the audience written on note cards provided before the program begins.
The candidates have met several times in public forums this year.
On November’s ballot, Williams will appear as a petition candidate.
Williams filed to run as a Republican in the GOP primary but was removed along with more than 200 other candidates statewide after a S.C. Supreme Court ruled they filed their paperwork incorrectly.
Jamie Self 803-329-4062
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