The Franklinton Chamber of Commerce has organized a candidate forum for the 10 candidates for alderman.

The forum will be Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 6 p.m. at the upper courtroom in the parish courthouse. Linda Crain, the chamber director, said the questions will come from the community and anyone can submit a question until Friday, Sept. 23.

“I live here in Franklinton, and there were a couple of candidates that I didn’t know, and I think that if you’re going to vote you need to know something about all the candidates,” she said.

Crain said this isn’t the first time the chamber has organized an event for candidates.

“Four years ago we did this with the alderman candidates but there weren’t 10 of them,” she said. “It was an opportunity for people to come out and meet the candidates. It’s never been a debate; we’ve never had that. It’s just so people can be familiar with the candidates.”

So far, Crain said no questions have been submitted, so she doesn’t know what the candidates will face just yet.

“I really don’t know,” She said. “Last time it was recreational areas, but this time I’m not really sure. I know there have been some issues of sewage, but those are being addressed. … Still, the biggest thing that people complain about is the big trucks on Washington Street going through the middle of town. But we’ve just formed a downtown committee to deal with those things.”

Given the large number of candidates, Crain said she expects each candidate will only get a couple of minutes to answer each question.

“It’s probably only going to last an hour and a half,” she said. “We didn’t want people to think it’s going to drag on all night, and it’s not.”

The election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Anyone can submit questions by either calling the chamber office at 985-839-5822, by email at franklintonchamber@franklinton.net or regular mail to the Franklinton Chamber at 211 11th Ave., Franklinton, LA 70438. Citizens can also visit the website at www.franklintonlouisiana.org and click “contact,” or hand deliver questions to the chamber office at 211 11th Ave. between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Letters can also be left after hours at the mailbox.