Date:

April 15, 2009

For More Information Contact:

Diane Gonzolas, Citizen Information Center, 441-7831

Sharon Nemeth, League of Women Voters, 472-2333, 489-3571

The League of Women Voters of Lincoln-Lancaster County (LLVLL) invites the public to a series of four debates Monday, April 20 featuring candidates on the ballot for the spring general election May 5.

The debates will run from 4:15 to 8 p.m. in the Bevins Family Life Center on the main floor of Saint Paul United Methodist Church, 1144 "M" Street. 5 CITY-TV (Time Warner Cable channel 5) also will tape these debates for rebroadcast. All races are nonpartisan. In the schedule below, all candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

• 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. - Lincoln Public Schools (LPS) Board of Education Subdistrict #5. Candidates are Lanny Boswell and Kevin Keller.
• 5 to 5:30 p.m. - LPS Board of Education Subdistrict #7. Candidates are Don Mayhew and Andrew Ringsmuth.
• 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. - Lincoln Airport Authority, at large. Candidates are John Hoppe Jr., John-Paul Jamison, Val Schmiedeskamp and Walter Zink II. (If two or three candidates attend, this will be shortened to 30 minutes.)
• 7 to 8 p.m. - Lincoln City Council. Candidates are Eugene Carroll, Adam Hornung, Jane Kinsey, Terry Kubicek, Jayne Snyder and Ken Svoboda.

In LPS Board of Education Subdistrict #1, candidate Greg Wiltshire was unavailable. Kathy Danek is the incumbent. There will be no debate for LPS Board of Education Subdistrict 3 because incumbent Barbara Baier is now unopposed.

To reach the Bevins Family Life Center from the west doors, use the elevator ("M" button). If entering the church through the south door, go up the interior stairs and walk away from the sanctuary. Parking is available across 11th Street or in the parking garage one block south of the church. Free space may be available on the street or in the garage under the church (enter from 11th Street).

Debate co-sponsors include the LWVLL; the Friends of the Mayor's Commission on Women; the Lincoln Area Agency on Aging; the National Council of Negro Women (Lincoln Section); the North 27th Street Business and Civic Association; the NAACP; and Saint Paul United Methodist Church. The LWVLL Education Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, is the primary source for debate funding.

Audience members are asked to not wear or otherwise display items indicating support of specific candidates while in the debate area.

For a schedule of air times, see the City Web site at lincoln.ne.gov and click on the 5 CITY-TV logo. The debates also will be available through video-on-demand on the Web site.