In a crowded race for Racine County’s new executive, voters heard directly from candidates at a forum Wednesday night.
The Racine Branch of the NAACP hosted the event at the area’s Gateway Technical College, and five of six candidates participated.
Chandler Rorek was one of the community members who attended.
“I’m trying to be mostly engaged with the community as best as I can, support everybody, local businesses,” Rorek said.
The position will be up for grabs in a special election on Dec. 19th, after the sudden death of former county executive Johnathan Delegrave in June.
For many forum attendees like Ricky Muhammad, Delegrave’s are big shoes to fill.
“I knew him,” Muhammad said. “I found him to be very forthright, very honest, a very genuine person.”
Candidates vying to complete his term, ending April 2027, will pick up some controversial issues like the proposed county sales tax.
“I’m not in favor of the sales tax that’s being implemented by the interim county executive,” Rorek shared.
Watch: Racine voters hear from the local candidates.
So far, every candidate that took the stage Thursday night was in favor of moving forward with the sales tax.
However, voters at the forum said they are also curious about where the candidates stand on public safety mental health, infrastructure, and employment.
A local primary election will be held on Nov. 21st after the nation's general election to narrow down the candidates, should they get the necessary signatures to get on the ballot.
The special election is set for Dec. 19th. Candidates Cory Sebastian, Lorenzo Santos, Ralph Malicki, Melvin Hargove, and Adam Jaskie all participated in the forum. Wendy Christensen was absent.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
