Minutes - Council Work Session - 09/10/2024

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Councilmember Woestehoff added that they should speak to the Executive Director of QCTV as they recently put a policy in place that states that QCTV will not have programming that features candidates during the election season. Councilmember Howell said this would not be featuring a candidate, it would be hosting a forum which is not the same thing. Councilmember Woestehoff noted that he would still like to discuss this with QCTV to make sure their understanding is in line with this. Councilmember Howell stated that if a small city like Oak Grove can pull this off then Ramsey definitely can. Mayor Kuzma said he would not support this as there is just not enough time before early voting starts. Councilmember Specht shared that he agrees that these forums should be open to the public and the footage should be able to be used. He suggested they have a conversation with the League of Women Voters about changing some of their restrictions before deciding to do their own forum. Councilmember Riley added that he does not like the idea of the City doing a forum like this. He suggested the Chamber of Commerce or another entity organize this. Councilmember Howell said she would like the forums to be open again and less restrictive. Councilmember Musgrove shared that she was not even aware that the League of Women Voters forum even happened. She noted that she thinks residents have missed out on this, especially since they cannot attend in person. She said that as a candidate who had participated in open forums, it made her a stronger candidate as she had to be prepared to answer any questions that may come her way. She stated that she would like to let the League of Women Voters know their disappointment with how they are running the forums. Mayor Kuzma asked what the cost of something like this would be. City Administrator Hagen said he is not sure. Councilmember Musgrove stated that between the Chamber of Commerce and the North Metro Chamber of Commerce they may have more availability for moderators to host this forum. Mayor Kuzma said he is not against the idea of an open forum for candidates; however, he does not think they would be able to pull it off before early voting begins. Councilmember Woestehoff agreed with Councilmember Riley that he does not think the City should be involved in a forum like this and would like to see another organization lead the charge on this. He added that he does have a concern with the timeline to get this done for the 2024 election. City Council Work Session/ September 10, 2024 Page 10 of 13