6 of 9 Rexburg city council candidates won't attend 'Meet the Candidate' night - East Idaho News
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6 of 9 Rexburg city council candidates won’t attend ‘Meet the Candidate’ night

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REXBURG — Six of nine candidates running for Rexburg city council in the upcoming November election have decided they will not attend a “Meet the Candidate” night planned for Saturday night.

There are three council seats on the ballot in Rexburg this year.

One of the candidates, Crystal Hill, sent a press release Friday. In the release, it explained why the candidates will not be attending the scheduled forum.

“When these candidates agreed to attend, those decisions were based on the information that the MCRW (Madison County Republican Women) planned to host and lead the forum,” the release said. “Since then, another local group announced their co-sponsorship. To which Greg Blacker, Robert Chambers, Colin Erickson, Crystal Hill, Mikel Walker, and Brad Wolfe would feel more comfortable to attend the Chamber of Commerce’s non-biased venue for a candidate debate and forum,” the release continued.

In a phone interview, Hill mentioned the other group is The 76 Project, a local conservative group based in Rexburg run by resident Daniel Brigman. Learn more about the group here.

“It was collectively decided that the environment may have bias,” Hill said. “Therefore I am choosing not to participate.”

EastIdahoNews.com also spoke with Brigman, who says The 76 Project is newly formed. He says the forum will not be bias, and has not endorsed any candidate.

“With this political climate there is so much division and polarization,” Brigman said. “We want to come together in a respectable, common sense way and improve the community through events like this candidate showcase.”

He expressed some confusion over their decision, and said it is disappointing the six candidates will not be attending.

The six candidates are planning to attend a city council debate scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Romance Theater in Rexburg. That debate is hosted by the Rexburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

Click below to see who is running in the upcoming elections for Rexburg city council.

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