Douglas County sheriff, district attorney candidate forums to focus on issues specific to people of color, LGBTQ+ communities

photo by: Contributed Photos

Across the top from left to right are 2020 Douglas County sheriff candidates Lt. Jay Armbrister, Deputy Dale Flory and Capt. Doug Woods. Across the bottom from left to right are Douglas County district attorney candidates Cooper Overstreet, Suzanne Valdez and incumbent Charles Branson.

Updated at 4:29 p.m. Wednesday:

Candidates for Douglas County sheriff and district attorney will participate in online forums this week and next that focus on issues that underrepresented populations face.

DA candidates Cooper Overstreet, Suzanne Valdez and incumbent Charles Branson will participate in a forum on the issues that Black people, Indigenous people and people of color and the LGBTQIA communities face with regard to the law, according to a Facebook event page. That forum starts at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

At 5:30 p.m. Friday, sheriff candidates Lt. Jay Armbrister, Deputy Dale Flory and Capt. Doug Woods will participate in a similar forum.

“Note: We respectfully ask the cisgender, heterosexual, white humans to attend, NOT to ask questions but to listen instead,” the Facebook event pages say.

The forums will be hosted and moderated by community members Jay Pryor, Tiffany Lewis and Clare Nderagakura. The forums will be recorded, and the videos will be posted to Facebook afterward, including on Pryor’s page at facebook.com/jaypryorconsulting.

People can submit questions ahead of time and anonymously by emailing info.bipoclgbtqia@gmail.com, Pryor said. Register for the DA forum online at bit.ly/2BAgawU and the sheriff forum at bit.ly/2C0Muc8.

Then, at 1 p.m. Saturday, the district attorney candidates will participate in a forum with the Lawrence branch of the NAACP. The following Saturday, July 18, the local NAACP will host the sheriff candidates. Questions will focus on diversity and the Douglas County Jail, according to Facebook event pages.

“The candidates that we vote for will make important decisions that affect you, your family and your community,” the event pages say. “We all must weigh in!”

Register for the NAACP’s DA candidate forum online at bit.ly/NAACPDAForum and the sheriff candidate forum at bit.ly/NAACPSheriffForum.

The forums will be recorded and later posted to the group’s Facebook page, facebook.com/LawrenceKSNAACP.

Both elections will almost certainly be decided in the Democratic primary on Aug. 4 as no Republicans filed for either position.

Voter registration ends Tuesday, July 14. Advance voting by mail begins the following day, and the deadline to request a mail ballot is Tuesday, July 28. For more information or to check your registration, visit douglascountyelections.com or ksvotes.org.

Contact Mackenzie Clark

Have a story idea, news or information to share? Contact public safety reporter Mackenzie Clark:

More 2020 election coverage: Douglas County district attorney race

• June 23, 2020: Candidates for Douglas County district attorney trade barbs in Democratic party forum

• June 22, 2020: Douglas County district attorney candidates share views on law enforcement misconduct, needed changes

• May 1, 2020: Incumbent Douglas County district attorney: Experience, leadership are needed to create change

• April 28, 2020: District Attorney Charles Branson files for reelection in 2020

• April 21, 2020: KU law professor, prosecutor Valdez: Douglas County district attorney’s office lacks leadership, clear policies

• April 20, 2020: Lawrence defense attorney Overstreet: Fairness, transparency missing from Douglas County criminal justice system

• April 16, 2020: Two Democrats file to run for Douglas County district attorney

More 2020 election coverage: Douglas County sheriff race

• June 18, 2020: Douglas County sheriff candidates voice range of opinions on jail expansion, including opposition

• June 12, 2020: Douglas County Sheriff Ken McGovern to retire early; he says ‘it’s been fun for 39 years’

• June 8, 2020: Douglas County sheriff candidates share views on public transparency, training against bias-based policing

• May 29, 2020: Douglas County undersheriff withdraws from race for sheriff

• April 21, 2020: Captain files to run for Douglas County Sheriff in 2020 election

• Jan. 30, 2020: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office veteran files to run for office’s top job in 2020

• Jan. 17, 2020: Undersheriff files to run for Douglas County sheriff in 2020 election

• June 12, 2019: Douglas County sheriff won’t seek another term, plans to retire in 2020

• Oct. 16, 2018: Lieutenant files to run for Douglas County sheriff in 2020

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