WATCH: Town hall held Thursday evening for candidates running in mayoral vacancy caucus
Democratic Precinct Chairs will be casting their votes on Saturday, April 20
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - On Thursday evening, community members will have a chance to hear from candidates vying for Democratic Precinct Chairs’ votes in the upcoming mayoral vacancy caucus.
Ahead of Saturday’s caucus, the community is invited to attend a candidate town hall from 6 to 8 p.m. on April 18 in the Classic Ballroom in Purdue Fort Wayne’s Walb Student Union. All candidates who filed by the April 17 deadline and meet requirements will have the opportunity to speak to the public and the Democratic Precinct Chairs who will vote in the vacancy caucus.
The town hall was originally set to be held at the David Hefner Pavilion, but the Allen County Democratic Party (ACDP) says after immense public interest in the event, they chose to move the event to PFW.
You can watch the town hall live below.
The caucus will then be held at the Lincoln Financial Event Center at Parkview Field at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. Only Democratic Precinct Chairs are eligible to participate in the caucus, party leaders say. Once the caucus begins, each candidate will have five minutes to speak and must receive 50% of the vote plus one to win.
21Alive News will also stream Saturday’s caucus live on our website starting at 10:15 a.m.
Who is running?
A total of seven candidates have met the requirements to fill the mayoral vacancy: a one-year residency in Fort Wayne city limits and the two most recent primaries the candidate voted in being the Democratic primary.
Indiana State Representative Phil GiaQuinta, 6th District City Councilwoman Sharon Tucker, City Councilwoman At-Large Michelle Chambers, Democratic Precinct Committeeman Jorge Fernandez, Wayne Township Trustee Austin Knox, the City’s Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Stephanie Crandall, and Palermo Galindo met the requirements to be considered for Fort Wayne’s next mayor.
Devon Graber, Bradley Nestor, Branden Blaettner and Terry Hakes filed paperwork to run but did not meet the two-primary rule.
Learn more about the process and who will select the city’s next mayor below.
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