FAIRHOPE, Ala. — A local group is sponsoring a forum Sept. 25 for the mayoral and council runoff elections.

“We consider this a pivotal election for the city of Fairhope,” said Harvey Joanning, president of Citzens for Responsible Government, a nonprofit organization based in Fairhope. “The forum will give the public an opportunity to see how the candidates address the important issues facing the city. The philosophies expressed by each candidate will give the public a better idea of what the future of Fairhope would look like if they are elected.”

The group also organized mayoral and council forums prior to the Aug. 26 elections. Those forums were co-sponsored with the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, but this one will be sponsored by the CRG group alone.

“We had over 700 people at the mayoral forum,” Joanning said. “It says the public is intensely interested in the mayoral contest.”

Joanning said all candidates have agreed to participate in the forum that will occur about two weeks before the Oct. 7 mayor and council runoffs.

Incumbent Mayor Tim Kant will face challenger Dean Mosher in the mayoral runoff, and incumbernt City Councilman Dan Stankoski will meet challenger Danny Corte in the Place 2 council runoff. Mosher received 1,282 votes to Kant’s 1,248 of 5,427 votes cast, and Stankoski received 2,417 votes to Corte’s 2,214 of 5,114 votes cast.

The upcoming forum at the Fairhope Civic Center will last two hours and start with the Place 2 council race at 7 p.m. to be followed at 8 p.m. by the mayoral contest, Joanning said.

“We have asked each of the candidates for what they consider the five most important issues facing the city,” Joanning said. “We will post their responses on our Web site.”

He said the public is also invited to send the issues they consider most important.

“The issues can be put in terms of a question to be asked of the candidates at the forum,” he said. “I will keep posting the questions on our Web site on a regular basis. It will be from those issues that the questions at the forum will be selected so that no one can say the questions are biased.”

Joanning said the CRG group will meet at noon today for its monthly meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Fairhope Avenue across from the satellite courthouse.

“We will have a work session to discuss the issues and questions we consider most important and will also post those,” he said. “If any member of the public wants to come, they are certainly welcome. We expect a pretty good crowd.”

The Web site of the Citizens for Responsible Government is found at www.responsiblegov.net. Suggested questions for the candidates should be sent to joanning@iastate.edu.