The Greater Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce is holding two Meet the Candidate events for the community, providing them the opportunity to ask the hard questions, and learn more about who is running in the General Election.

“The reason we are having two is simply because families are busy and we want to make sure they have a chance to come to one of them and ask the tough questions,” Greater Lehigh Acres Chamber of Commerce Chairman Ed Moore said.

The Thursday, Sept. 20, event will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Lehigh Acres Senior Center, 219 Plaza Drive. The other, Politics at the Park, will be held outdoors under tents with tables and chairs, at the Lehigh Town Center, 25 Homestead Road North, on the corner of Alabama and Homestead, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4.

“My real hope is that we can pull in some nonvoters. I think that nonvoters are really crucial, not only to this election, but every election. People need to get engaged. If they want to change things in their community, this is where it starts,” Moore said.

Some of those who will be attending include school board, water management, Florida House, Florida Senate and fire board candidates. Moore said some candidates will attend both events, while others can only make one.

“I’ve really been pushing getting out to vote,” he said of why they are holding the Meet the Candidates events. “I’ve been pushing to learn what you are voting about.”

In addition to the two upcoming events, the Chamber has hosted candidates at their luncheons for the past three months. He said it has provided the candidates with an opportunity to state what they stand for, while giving the audience a chance to ask questions.

“Education is crucial,” Moore said.

The last town hall event they held with school board candidates helped those who attended make a decision of whom to vote for, Moore said, adding a few attendees shared that before they attended the town hall they had their mind set on a specific candidate they had voted for in the past, but changed their mind after it concluded.

“I want them to be exposed and ask the right questions, so they do know what the people stand for. If it does mean that you changed your mind, you got more information, If you don’t change your mind, at least it solidifies that vote,” Moore said.

One of the questions he hopes the audience will ask of the school board candidates is the half cent sales tax initiative.

“That could be a huge benefit to our schools. It’s not just the residents paying for that, but all of tourism that would be paying for that,” he explained. “I’m personally going to vote yes for that because our school system needs that. A half cent on everybody’s individual sales is much of nothing, but cumulative, is very powerful.”