KARNES COUNTY – The invitations are in the mail, the moderator has been confirmed and the auditorium is booked.

The Karnes Countywide is again partnering with Radio KAML to bring a Candidates’ Forum and Debate to the Karnes City High School Auditorium on Wednesday, May 2 at 7 p.m.

Candidates for the office of county commissioner, county sheriff and county attorney have been invited to share the stage with moderator Cletus Bianchi to field questions submitted by local media and the general public.

There will be 12 candidates on the stage with Bianchi, should all agree to participate in the event.

For the office of County Commissioner Precinct 1, Republican Candidate Gary Deskin has been invited as well as Democrat candidates for the same office, Carl Hummel, Shelby Dupnik and Tommy Shockome.

For the office of County Commissioner Precinct 3, Democrat Candidates James Rosales and Mary Lozano have been invited.

For the office of County Attorney, Democrat Candidate Herb Hancock has been invited as well as Republican Candidate Betty Yarter.

For the office of County Sheriff, Democrat Candidates David Jalufka, Spencer Stubbs, Freddie Barrientez and Dwayne Villanueva have all been invited.

“The Karnes Countywide has a tradition of teaming up with our partner Radio KAML to sponsor these debates going back twelve years,” said Editor Joe Baker. “We don’t always host a debate for every election, but we thought with so many contested races at stake in the upcoming elections, we thought this would be an excellent opportunity to provide a forum where the public will have the chance to listen to the candidates respond to questions.”

Most of the questions will come from the general public, and only questions that are addressed to all the candidates in a given race, will be selected.

Questions can be submitted by email to: karneseditor@mysoutex.com, by fax to: 830-583-0285, or by mail to “Candidates’ Forum and Debate, The Karnes Countywide, 111 S. Second Street, Kenedy, TX 78119.

“We hope that this event will help voters make an informed choice at the ballot box, and hopefully by listening to the candidates speak for 90 minutes, they will get to know each one of them a little better than they already do,” Baker said. “For those unable to attend in person, we plan to broadcast the event live online on the Internet and recordings of the event will be also posted online afterwards for anyone to listen to at any time.”