Mayoral candidates scheduled to appear at Saturday forum

ALBANY — The seven Albany mayoral candidates will have an opportunity on Saturday morning to make their pitch to voters during a forum in east Albany.

The forum starts at 10 a.m. at the Boys & Girls Club at Thornton Gym, located at 210 Thornton Drive.

“For a sneak preview of candidate’s platforms and their perspective, I invite concerned voters to meet and socialize with the mayoral candidates who are seeking office,” Ward I Albany City Commissioner Jon Howard said. “I invite concerned voters to meet and socialize with the mayoral candidates who are seeking office.”

Each candidate will be allowed a seven-minute block of time to make their case. Mayor Dorothy Hubbard, along with her six challengers, have agreed to attend the forum, Howard said.

The other candidates are downtown business owner Edward Allen; Bo Dorough, an attorney and former Albany City Commission member; Henry Mathis, a businessman and former commission member; Albany State University professor James Pratt Jr.; businessman Omar Salaam and Tracy Taylor, a Waycross firefighter who took a leave of absence from his part-time work with the Albany Fire Department to seek office.

“We as informed voters should learn as much as possible about the candidates before the Nov. 5 general election,” Howard said. “If possible, please invite neighbors, friends, senior citizens and millennial students and become engaged, involved and exposed on community issues.”

At least one other forum for candidates is planned before the election. Competitive races for Wards IV and VI also will be on the November ballot.

File Photo: Carlton Fletcher