NORTH SMITHFIELD – The three candidates running for North Smithfield’s top office will address resident’s questions and concerns during a one-hour forum on Wednesday, Aug. 19 sponsored by Northern Rhode Island News On the Web.
The NRI NOW Forum for town administrator candidates is set to take place via Zoom, with publisher Sandy Seoane serving as moderator. Residents can watch the event live on the NRI NOW Facebook page. Users can watch anonymously and do not need a Facebook account to view the event. Video of the forum will remain on the page after the event for readers to view or share.
The event will be the first of two forums sponsored by the publication, with a second event tentatively scheduled for North Smithfield Town Council candidates in October.
All three individuals running for the seat – Paul Jones, Paul Zwolenski and Douglas Osier – have agreed to take part. Current Town Administrator Gary Ezovski will not be seeking a third term.
Readers are invited to submit questions for the town’s three would-be leaders by emailing sandy@nrinow.news, messaging Seoane via the NRI NOW Facebook page, or by commenting here, or on social media. The candidates will be given a maximum of three minutes each to answer each question, and up to one minute for rebuttals as needed.
Questions chosen will reflect priorities as submitted by the majority of readers, and will not be released to the candidates in advance.
Former Town Administrator Paulette Hamilton has agreed to help with the technical aspects of the event, such as operating the virtual meeting so that residents can watch it live. If time remains, additional questions may be taken as submitted via Facebook during the live event.
The event leads up to a primary race for the seat, which will eliminate one of the three candidates, scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8.
Questions about the virtual event can also be sent to sandy@nrinow.news.
