Last year, we spiced up the Spokane City Council election season with a forum unlike any other, forcing local candidates to eat spicy wings and answer even spicier questions. It was a smashing success — thanks in no small part to so many amazing people in the community.This election season, we’re dreaming even bigger.
We’re partnering with Washington’s premier youth-led civic engagement organization The Washington Bus Education Fund to marry two strong flavors: their focus on young voters, and our spice. On July 30 at Overbluff Cellars from 5 to 9 pm, we’ll be hosting Candidate Survivor: Spokane's Spiciest Candidate Forum. So mark your calendars for July 30 and get your tickets here while they last.
Still need to hear more? A discerning reader! We’ve invited candidates running for Washington’s 5th Congressional District, 3rd Legislative District and 6th Legislative District to get onstage and face the fire.
Why is it so important to us to put these candidates on the hot seat? Sadism? Schadenfreude? If we said yes to either, would you blame us?
Much more importantly, though: At RANGE, we believe engagement in local politics should be accessible to voters. We want to remove barriers standing between you and being an informed community member and voter — whether that’s by demystifying complicated policies or making civic engagement feel fun.
We do this because we believe everyone should have the tools to hold politicians’ feet to the fire, wherever you, or they, fall on the political spectrum.
But last year confirmed what we suspected: politicians have more body parts than just feet, and there’s nothing more fun than holding their mouths to the fire as well.
The evening will kick off with an informal social hour at 5 pm. From 6 to 8 pm, State legislative candidates from districts 3 and 6 will answer individualized questions handcrafted by RANGE reporter Erin Sellers. Then, they’ll go head-to-head against other candidates in their race, “buzzing in” by eating spicy hot wings from a local chef if they want to answer a question.
At 8 pm, six candidates running to represent Washington’s 5th District in Congress will take the stage, where they will answer questions in rounds. After each round, the audience (yes, you!) will be given the power to vote a candidate “off the island,” so to speak, until just two candidates are left onstage. Then, they will go head-to-head, eating hot wings and answering spicy questions tailored to their campaigns.
Join us at the end of the month for some of the sweatiest democracy you’ll ever see, and don’t forget — civic engagement is hot, and if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the candidacy!
Tickets are available on a sliding scale ranging from completely free for those experiencing economic hardship to $30, with an optional food add-on if you want dinner! We want to keep all our election content to be as accessible as possible so everyone can be an informed voter, but transparently, we’ve also got food and venue rental costs to cover here, so: pick the price that feels doable for you, and if you’ve got extra in your pocket this month, you can take a $30 ticket to cover costs for someone who needs a free ticket!
Get em now 👇
PARTICIPATING CANDIDATES*
Congressional District 5
Andrew Bartleson
Carmela Conroy
Kevin Fagan
Bajun Mavalwalla
David Womack
Legislative District 3, position 1
Natasha Hill
Tony Kiepe
Legislative District 3, position 2
Luc Jasmin III
Pam Kohlmeier
Natalie Poulson
Legislative District 6, position 1
Alan Nolan
Nicolette Ocheltree
Legislative District 6, position 2
Jonathan Bingle
Aaron Croft
Julia Payne
The following candidates received invitations but did not respond by the deadline: Congressman Michael Baumgartner, John Kness (L3, position 1) and Isaiah Paine (L6, position 1). Nate Powell (Congressional district 5) initially confirmed, then cancelled to attend a donor fundraiser.
*We are still in conversation with two candidates who have not given official confirmations or denials.
