<div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">Dawn, Rebecca, and Adeline and all,</div><div dir="ltr">I'll plan to be at the 12:30 meeting , too..</div><div dir="ltr">I'm also wondering about co-sponsors and any guidelines for their participation ( tabling outside, etc) </div><div dir="ltr">I agree eliminating the green/red cards if good- and kept the focus on what the candidates say  and is less confontational to not use them.   . so we can use them for something else in the future! Will we be collecting questions from the audience at the event? If so do we need paper/pencil or something for that? </div><div dir="ltr"><br><div>Thanks for the additional reference, it is helpful. I did quick search and also found this</div><div dir="ltr">Wisconsin LWV document which has extensive explanations and comments which I found interesting to read.</div><div dir="ltr"><a href="https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/about/candidate-forum-guidelines" target="_blank">https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/about/candidate-forum-guidelines</a></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div>In that document I found the FEC definition of debate t interesting:</div><div> "<strong style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit">2.  The Regulatory Framework</strong></div><p style="font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">Key elements of the regulatory framework include the following:</p><p style="font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;padding:0px;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:1.6">The <strong style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit">Federal Election Commission</strong> (FEC) regulates the conduct of corporate, labor and nonprofit organizations — including both 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations — in <strong style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit">federal</strong> elections.  FEC regulations define a debate as an event that</p><ul style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem 1.1rem;padding:0px;line-height:1.6;list-style-position:outside"><li style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">-includes at least two candidates;</li><li style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">-is staged in a way that does not promote or advance one candidate over another; and</li><li style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">-allows the candidates to appear concurrently, in face-to-face confrontations, with opportunities to respond to each other.</li><li style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><font face="Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif">I know we'll be asking candidates to give a statement and to respond to questions.. but I don't think we'll be asking them to respond to each other..( and we could guide our event so that doesn't happen).. If so,  maybe our educational event wouldn't qualify by their definition.</font></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">I, too, am glad we're doing this educational forum and I'm eager to see the questions that Dave and Andrew have come up with. I'll plan to be there for the meeting tomorrow. </span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br></span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">Other things to think about: display of literature.( candidates and/or co-sponsors) investing that this WI guidelines suggests: <span style="font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px">Candidate literature may not be displayed or distributed in the room of the debate.  Literature may be displayed or distributed outside the debate room</span></li></ul><div><font face="Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" size="3">Regarding Marietta college:</font><br></div><div><font face="Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif" size="3">Their document says:</font></div><ul style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem 1.1rem;padding:0px;line-height:1.6;list-style-position:outside"><strong style="font-size:16px;box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Roboto,Arial,sans-serif"><span style="font-weight:normal"> </span><span style="font-weight:normal">FEC rules do allow educational institutions (e.g., a university) to sponsor "candidate appearances" that also involve members of the public.  The rules are not clear as to whether cosponsorship with an educational institution would give the League more latitude in dealing with an empty chair situation. </span></strong></ul><ul style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem 1.1rem;padding:0px;line-height:1.6;list-style-position:outside"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">I found some more info, too, in my web search it might be helpful.:<br></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><a href="https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements-ssf-or-connected-organization/public-debates/" target="_blank">https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/making-disbursements-ssf-or-connected-organization/public-debates/</a><br></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none">Following the links to one of their legal citations. this info is given:<a href="https://www.fec.gov/regulations/114-4/2018-annual-114#114-4-c-7-ii-A" target="_blank" style="font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right">https://www.fec.gov/regulations/114-4/2018-annual-114#114-4-c-7-ii-A</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right;color:inherit">in  FEC  regulations:</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right;color:inherit">7.</span><span class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-paragraph-text" style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif;box-sizing:inherit"><dfn class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-key-term" style="box-sizing:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;font-style:normal;display:inline-block;font-size:1em;line-height:1.5;text-transform:uppercase;margin:0px;width:479.75px">CANDIDATE APPEARANCES ON EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION PREMISES—</dfn></span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="color:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right">i.</span><dfn class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-key-term" style="color:inherit;font-size:1em;box-sizing:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;font-style:normal;display:inline-block;line-height:1.5;margin:0px;width:459.75px">Rental of facilities at usual and normal charge</dfn><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">Any incorporated nonprofit educational institution exempt from federal taxation under </span><a href="http://api.fdsys.gov/link?collection=uscode&section=501&title=26&year=mostrecent" class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106external gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-citation" target="_blank" style="font-family:gandhi,serif;color:inherit;box-sizing:inherit;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(17,46,81);text-decoration:none">26 U.S.C. 501</a><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">(c)(3), such as a school, college or university, may make its facilities available to any candidate or political committee in the ordinary course of business and at the usual and normal charge. In this event, the requirements of paragraph </span><a href="https://www.fec.gov/regulations/114-4/2018-annual-114#114-4-c-7-ii" class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-citation gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-internal" target="_blank" style="font-family:gandhi,serif;color:rgb(17,46,81);box-sizing:inherit;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(0,113,188);text-decoration:none">(c)(7)(ii)</a><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif"> of this section are not applicable.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="color:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right">ii.</span><span class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-paragraph-text" style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif;box-sizing:inherit"><dfn class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-key-term" style="box-sizing:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;font-style:normal;display:inline-block;font-size:1em;line-height:1.5;margin:0px;width:459.75px">Use of facilities at no charge or at less than the usual and normal charge.</dfn>An incorporated nonprofit educational institution exempt from federal taxation under <a href="http://api.fdsys.gov/link?collection=uscode&section=501&title=26&year=mostrecent" class="gmail-m_8075546235798845106external gmail-m_8075546235798845106gmail-citation" target="_blank" style="color:inherit;box-sizing:inherit;border-bottom-width:1px;border-bottom-style:dotted;border-bottom-color:rgb(17,46,81);text-decoration:none">26 U.S.C. 501</a>(c)(3), such as a school, college or university, may sponsor appearances by candidates, candidates' representatives or representatives of political parties at which such individuals address or meet the institution's academic community or the general public (whichever is invited) on the educational institution's premises at no charge or at less than the usual and normal charge, if:</span><span style="color:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right">A.</span><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">The educational institution makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the appearances constitute speeches, question and answer sessions, or similar communications in an academic setting, and makes reasonable efforts to ensure that the appearances are not conducted as campaign rallies or events; and </span><span style="color:inherit;font-family:karla,sans-serif;font-weight:600;text-align:right">B.</span><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">The educational institution does not, in conjunction with the appearance, expressly advocate the election or defeat of any clearly identified candidate(s) or candidates of a clearly identified political party, and does not favor any one candidate or political party over any other in allowing such appearances.</span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif"><br></span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">Yes it's a learning experience .. See you tomorrow.. and I'm available to help on Thursday in whatever ways are needed. </span></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px 0px 0px 2em;padding:0px;list-style:none none"><span style="color:inherit;font-family:gandhi,serif">Cindy</span></li></ul></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr">On Fri, Sep 7, 2018 at 9:33 PM Dawn Hewitt via Green <<a href="mailto:green@fuusm.org" target="_blank">green@fuusm.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Dear Green friends,<br>
<br>
I have sent the questions David and Andrew prepared to all six of the candidates who have agreed to participate in the Candidate Forum on Energy and the Environment. Four candidates will be present; Sherrod Brown will send a statement, and Connor Murphy will stand in for Bill Johnson.<br>
<br>
In my time-constrained searches on “empty-chair” regulations, I am unable to find anything directly from the FEC—only guidelines from the League of Women Voters. <br>
<br>
But I did find this to be interesting and useful, and we should use it to shape Rebecca’s opening comments:<br>
<br>
 <a href="https://lwvchaffeecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EmptyChairPolicyBooted-1.pdf" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://lwvchaffeecounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/EmptyChairPolicyBooted-1.pdf</a><br>
<br>
It is possible that we might not be able to read Sherrod Brown’s statement, since Renacci never even acknowledged receipt of our invitation. <br>
<br>
However, Bill Johnson’s representative, Connor Murphy will be there, so, rather than taking questions, I hope he will be able to read Congressman Johnson’s answers to our questions, or at least a prepared statement from Mr. Johnson. I infer that he is not allowed to answer questions himself, but only to read what Johnson (or his aids, including Mr. Murphy) have prepared. <br>
<br>
The state and local candidates —I infer that the open chair rule does not apply to them, only to federal candidates.  So, let’s get on with the show!<br>
<br>
I hope to see a big chunk of you after services Sunday so we can hammer those devils out of the details, and make his forum as educational, useful, and well organized as possible.<br>
<br>
Hugs to you all,<br>
<br>
—dawn<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
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<a href="mailto:Green@fuusm.org" target="_blank">Green@fuusm.org</a><br>
<a href="http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/green_fuusm.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://fuusm.org/mailman/listinfo/green_fuusm.org</a><br>
</blockquote></div>