On November 7, voters in the City of Portage will select a new mayor and fill three seats on the City Council. WMUK invited the candidates to speak at a public forum at the Portage District Library on Wednesday, October 4, in cooperation with the Institute for Government and Politics at Western Michigan University's Department of Political Science.
Current Portage Mayor Peter Stazdas is not seeking re-election. Hoping to replace him are two members of the City Council: Patricia Randall and Nasim Ansari.
There are eight candidates on the ballot for three Portage City Council seats. Only two incumbents are running: Claudette Reid and Terry Urban. That means at least one of the others will win a Council seat. They are Christopher Burns; Tim Earl; Lori Knapp; Jim Stephanek; Phil Stinchcomb; and Wayne Stoffer.
All of the candidates attended the forum except Stephanek and Stinchcomb, who submitted recorded statements, and Stoffer, who is not actively campaigning.
There is a Kalamazoo League of Women Voters guide to the Portage City Council race.
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