[162]GENERAL ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES TO ADDRESS ISSUES AT MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct. 17, 2008EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CANDIDATES TO ADDRESS ISSUES AT MTSU
Political Hopefuls to Explain Area Concerns to Students, Many First-Time Voters

(MURFREESBORO) – Candidates for the state House of Representatives and Senate in Tennessee will participate in a forum on higher education from noon to 1:30 on Wednesday, Oct. 22, in Cantrell Hall in MTSU’s Tom H. Jackson Building. This event is free and open to the public.
The candidates who have confirmed that they will attend include Tim Tipps (D-Murfreesboro), House candidate in District 48; Rick Womick (R-Murfreesboro), House candidate in District 49; Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro), House candidate (incumbent) in District 49; Dr. Rishi Saxsena (D-Murfreesboro), House candidate in District 34; and Jean Anne Rogers (D-Murfreesboro), Senate candidate in District 16.
Invitations also were extended to Donna Rowland (R-Murfreesboro), House candidate (incumbent) in District 34; Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), Senate candidate (incumbent) in District 16; and Joe Carr (R-Lascassas), House candidate in District 48. "Since many of our students are first-time voters or have moved here from other parts of the state, they have never met the local candidates for state representative and senate,” says Dr. Jim Williams, director of MTSU’s Albert Gore Research Center and coordinator of the American Democracy Project, which sponsors the forum. “This forum is part of the overall voter education and civic engagement activities of the American Democracy Project to produce active, informed, and engaged students and graduates of MTSU."
There will be informal question-and-answer periods of 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the forum for discussions on other topics. For more information, contact Williams at 615-898-2632 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.


--30--