This November, voters will not only elect a new president, but they will decide several local and state offices as well.

Utah Region 17 PTA is hosting two Meet the Candidate nights where all local candidates were invited to participate. There also will be discussion about proposed constitutional amendments that affect education.

The nights will begin at 5:30 p.m. with an hour-long discussion on the proposed amendments, with questions being taken. Then, at 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m., there will be the candidate portion of the night. The first Meet the Candidates night on Oct. 3 will be at Indian Hills Middle School, 1180 E. Sanders Road. A second night will be held Oct. 9 at Union Middle School, 615 E. 8000 South.

This falls in line with the PTA’s mission, said Rachael de Azevedo, the Region 17 advocacy chairwoman.

"The PTA is the largest advocacy group for public education in Utah,” she said. “Our mission statement is ‘To make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for all children.’ I hope that by hosting a ‘Meet the Candidate’ night we’ll encourage open dialogue between voters and candidates about the issues facing schools, families and neighborhoods. By creating a space of meaningful conversations, we hope to empower voters with the information they need to make informed decisions at the ballot and to understand the jobs of our representatives." 

While the candidates had a date after press deadline to respond, amongst those who committed early to attending include candidates for U.S. Senate and U.S. House as well as for Utah governor, Utah attorney general, state senate, state house, state school board, Salt Lake County mayor and council, county assessor, county recorder, county surveyor and county treasurer and Canyons Board of Education.

Within Canyons Board of Education district 1 race, three candidates — Jackson Lewis, Rainer Lilbok and Kristine L. Millerberg — confirmed their attendance to Meet the Candidates Night. 

District 1 is one of the fastest growing areas within the school district, serving about 8,000 students in Midvale and northern Sandy. The seat was unexpectedly vacated in February with the death of then school board vice president Mont Millerberg; and later, filled by his wife, Kristine L. Millerberg, a longtime teacher.

The candidates who sent in a RSVP by press deadline include Brian King (tentative) and Charlie Tautuaa, Utah governor; Carlton E. Bowen and Caroline Gleich, U.S. Senate; Glenn J. Wright, U.S. House 3; Derek Brown, Austin Hepworth, Michelle Quist, Utah attorney general; John Arthur and Molly L. Hart, district 7, state board of education; Amanda B. Bollinger, district 9, state board of education.

Also confirmed to attend are state senate district 15 candidates Scott Cuthbertson and Kathleen Ann Riebe and state house candidates Jessica Wignall, district 39; Travis Smith, district 42; Sara Rose Cimmers and Tracy Miller, district 45; and Cal Roberts, district 46; for state auditor Tina Cannon and Jeffrey Ostler; for state treasurer, Miles Pomeroy.

In the county races, Salt Lake County mayoral candidate Erin Rider has confirmed her attendance as did county council at-large C candidate Rachelle Morris, council 4 candidates Nolan Kruse, Roger A. Livingston and Ross I. Romero; and council 6 candidates Zach Robinson and Dea Theodore. For the county assessor, candidates confirmed to come are Joel Frost and Chris Starvos; for county recorder, candidate Rashelle Hobbs; for county surveyor, Bradley Park and Kent D. Setterberg; and for county treasurer, Phil Conder and Sheila Srivastava.

In addition to the Canyons School Board district 1 candidates, Barbara A. Gentry confirmed her attendance in the district 3 race.

While Region 17 PTA mirrors Canyons School District, de Azevedo said this nonpartisan event is a public service to better inform voters and the PTA and school district do not promote any candidates. λ