Candidate Events Inch Closer In Windham

Both town and school official candidates will have the opportunity to make their positions heard during two upcoming Windham events.

The Windham Woman's Club will host its 16th annual candidates night on Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. 

The event, which is hosted at Town Hall, typically sees a huge crowd, and comes following the celebration of the club's

Candidates are cycled in and out at the forum starting with the Board of Selectmen. Last year, the 23 people vying for positions took just about three hours to run through.

This year, 33 total candidates will be running with eight contested positions across the board. The hot race to keep an eye on will be that for school board, with seven candidates vying for just two positions.

Audience members submit questions to the candidates during the Woman's Club event.

Windham Seniors President Barbara Coish also announced this week that the Senior Center will once again host candidates. Coish said that candidates for office will be invited to stop by the Windham Seniors February 29 business meeting.

Candidates should arrive at 1 p.m.

Those vying for office will be invited to introduce themselves briefly to the members. For those who can't attend, Coish is also inviting them to send along a brief statement, which she will read to the members.

As early as the Saturday deliberative session, Southern N.H. 9-12 Project co-coordinator Ken Eyring was hoping to host a second formal candidates event to go along with the annual Town Hall event.

The 9-12 Project event would have taken place at Windham High School, but Eyring said on Feb. 15 that scheduling conflicts with the high school auditorium will make an event difficult.

The intent, said Eyring, is to compliment the Woman's Club event.

A decision has not yet been made on whether Eyring's organization will forgo an event.

When asked about the event at the school deliberative session, Eyring told Patch that "one candidates night isn't enough in Windham," using the example of the dozens of presidential debates that are held to vet the Republican candidates.

The Southern 9-12 Project gained its notoriety in town and among some of the national media during N.H. primary season, when an event held for Newt Gingrich drew one of the largest crowds in the state for this election cycle.

The 9-12 Project also hosted Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul as well as another presidential candidate, Rick Santorum.