There’s no shortage of candidates for the mayor’s race in Mount Airy this year, and the same goes for upcoming events that will allow citizens to learn about those running.

So far, at least three gatherings are planned, by the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce and two members of the local business community, Burke Robertson and Twyla Sickmiller.

The settings will range from structured, organized forums intended to illuminate candidates’ stands on key local issues, to simply giving the public a chance to meet those involved.

They include Gene Clark, Deborah Cochran, Paul Eich and Teresa Lewis. Those candidates will meet in an Oct. 6 primary, with the two top vote-getters to square off in the Nov. 3 general election.

Two city commissioner seats also are affected by this year’s municipal election, but candidates for those, incumbent Jon Cawley in the North Ward and newcomer Steve Yokeley in the South Ward, are unopposed.

Informal Gathering

The first of the candidate events is scheduled Tuesday at 308 Bistro on North Main Street downtown.

“It’s just going to be a social thing,” Sickmiller, the owner of the business, said Wednesday, explaining that no organized question-and-answer format will be involved. “It’s just more come and meet the candidates.”

But while it will be informal, the event will allow citizens the opportunity to get to know the mayor hopefuls as people, according to Sickmiller, who said that experience should prove valuable to voters as well.

“We’re finalizing it,” the business owner added Wednesday of the gathering, explaining that she still was awaiting commitments from all those running for mayor.

The time frame for Tuesday’s event is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Series At Cafe

Another opportunity for city residents to get an up-close view of the candidates also will begin next week.

This will occur with a “Good Morning, Mount Airy” series planned by Robertson at his Good Life Cafe downtown. In addition to the mayoral candidates, he said the weekly series will include other guests from the community as the fall unfolds.

Beginning next Thursday at 10 a.m., one candidate will appear each week until all the mayor hopefuls have been included. Cochran will be the first week’s guest, with Lewis to appear on Sept. 17, Eich on Sept. 24 and Clark, Oct. 1.

The format will involve each person being seated in the front window area of The Good Life Cafe. Meanwhile, citizens will gather inside the business to ask candidates questions or simply hear what they have to say during brief presentations outlining their candidacies.

There will be no “pat questions,” said Robertson, who explained that those in the audience can ask whatever they want in a spontaneous exchange. He said that differs from other formats in which office-seekers receive questions in advance.

“When the candidates have the questions two weeks before, I don’t think you get very good answers from them,” Robertson said.

Despite that format which some politicians might consider risky, “each one of the candidates was more than willing to do it,” the cafe owner said.

Chamber Forum

The Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a forum for Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.

Chamber official Betty Ann Collins said it will have the same format as a similar, heavily attended event held before the last city election in 2007. All candidates involved will be seated onstage and field a series of questions that have been submitted by local media outlets and possibly chamber members as well, Collins said.

“We are expecting a good crowd,” she said. “The chamber’s not political one way or the other, but I think it is wonderful we have four people interested in serving as mayor.”

In addition to the mayoral hopefuls, the chamber forum will include the two commissioner candidates. Though they’re unopposed, Collins said having them present will allow the citizens to learn about everyone’s positions on economic development, water and sewer issues, public services and other matters.

Plans are in the works for the forum to be taped so it can be broadcast via radio for citizens unable to attend, but they had not been finalized as of Wednesday.

The move to allow chamber members to submit questions to the candidates is an attempt to include input by people who might not live in Mount Airy, but have a stake due to operating businesses in the city.

Another event tentatively scheduled by the chamber, for Oct. 13, could produce some fireworks. That will be what Collins called a “mayoral debate” between the two top vote-getters from the Oct. 6 primary.

One of the candidates said Wednesday that she would welcome the chance for such a one-on-one encounter. “I think it’s a marvelous idea,” Cochran said.

Collins said plans for that event will be announced once they are finalized.

Contact Tom Joyce at tjoyce@mtairynews.com or at 719-1924.