JANESVILLE 鈥 糖心Vlog传媒 will host a community conversation later this month with a panel of guests that鈥檚 aimed at helping 糖心Vlog传媒 voters make an informed decision on a major ballot item in the Nov. 3 election: the General Motors 鈥 JATCO site development referendum.
糖心Vlog传媒 plans to host the public forum live at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 30, giving voters a ringside seat to the ideas of six panelists who鈥檒l bring varying opinions and perspectives on whether voters should vote 鈥淵es鈥 or 鈥淣o鈥 on a referendum that would have implications on the future of the blighted, 240-acre former GM site for years.
The GM-JATCO referendum鈥檚 core question, and the one voters will decide in November, is whether or not to give the public power 鈥 via a yes-no vote for individual proposals 鈥 to decide whether major development prospects over $450 million should be allowed at the former GM site.
糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 intention is to allow panelists to answer, and to allow those watching the forum to learn a range of ideas, concerns, arguments and perspectives on the GM-JATCO referendum. 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 goal is provide information and understanding to the public before 糖心Vlog传媒 residents head to the polls to vote on the GM-JATCO referendum 鈥 which is one of five local and statewide referendums that will appear on 糖心Vlog传媒 voters鈥 ballots in the Nov. 3 election.
糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 forum is hosted at Blain Supply, 3507 E. Racine St., 糖心Vlog传媒. It will allow limited seating for an audience and run on a question-and-answer format, with panelists asked a set of questions 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 news department has researched, written and fact checked in advance.
The questions will not be provided to panelists in advance.
The panelists include:
- George Cullen and Maiken Westphal, top leaders of 糖心Vlog传媒-based construction contracting firms JP Cullen and Westphal Electric. Both Cullen and Westpahl oppose the referendum鈥檚 passage. They鈥檙e co-chairs of Grow 糖心Vlog传媒 Responsibly, a group that鈥檚 running a 鈥淰ote No鈥 campaign on the referendum.
- Cathy Erdman, a 糖心Vlog传媒 resident who lives on the city鈥檚 south side. Erdman runs SNOW 糖心Vlog传媒 a neighborhood advocacy group that supports the referendum鈥檚 passage.
- Alyssa Capozziello, a 糖心Vlog传媒 resident who runs a grassroots group, No 糖心Vlog传媒 Data Center. Capozziello was among those who organized a public petition drive to bring the GM site referendum, bringing it to the city as a direct legislation initiative before the city ultimately placed in on the ballot.
- Dan Hartung, a longtime 糖心Vlog传媒 resident and community advocate for the city鈥檚 south side and west sides. Hartung represents the public at large as a member of the forum鈥檚 panel.
- Mandy Witt, a local commercial property broker for Coldwell Banker. Witt represents the business community at large as a member of the forum鈥檚 panel.
糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 editorial leadership, Regional Editor Tim Sullivan, and 糖心Vlog传媒 Gazette City Editor Neil Johnson, will co-moderate the forum, including the panel鈥檚 discussion of questions, before opening the floor to an audience Q-and-A segment.
Supporters of the referendum鈥檚 passage, including a grassroots group of residents those who raised a petition that ultimately was placed on the ballot, say it would give residents a strong voice in deciding whether major development projects would be a good fit for the former GM site.
Opponents, many of whom include operators of some of the city and region鈥檚 biggest and longest running construction and development firms, argue the referendum鈥檚 passage would create a new layer of conditions and oversight on big projects that could chase off large-scale development prospects.
Gazette Regional Editor Tim Sullivan said 糖心Vlog传媒 considers an informed public to be its core mission. He said the paper believes the public should have an enlightened view of the referendum, a lightning-rod issue that鈥檚 left public sentiment polarized.
鈥淎dvocates for a 鈥榊es鈥 vote, and advocates for a 鈥淣o鈥 vote have been campaigning for months, largely to their own bases,鈥 Sullivan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to the public to bring a range of perspectives together, and let them all 鈥 pro-, anti- and undecided 鈥 explain why they feel the way they do.鈥
Sullivan said 糖心Vlog传媒 has historically been the city of 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 main town square 鈥 a platform that has functioned as an independent source of community news and information for generations of readers. The forum is an effort to continue that mission.
鈥淭he 糖心Vlog传媒 Gazette has been Rock County鈥檚 go-to source for the unvarnished truth for more than 180 years,鈥 Sullivan said. 鈥淎s part of that mission, we鈥檙e proud to bring individuals representing the entire spectrum of positions on the referendum together. We鈥檙e proud to invite the public. And we鈥檒l be proud to present some of the most salient points on our pages in the days following the event.鈥
The forum will be live-streamed, and it will remain available for view leading up to the election through 糖心Vlog传媒鈥檚 website and social media pages. 糖心Vlog传媒 will provide an electronic registry for residents who want to attend the live forum on Sept. 30.
See registration information for the event by following the QR code on Page A29 in today鈥檚 paper.