We the People 2002 Agenda

4/2/2002
provided by Wisconsin State Journal

Listening to citizen concerns about Wisconsin's race for governor is the 2002 focus for the media partners in We the People/Wisconsin.

Six candidates for governor have agreed to take part in a series of trips around Wisconsin to meet with citizens in a half-dozen regions. These listening sessions, organized by We the People/Wisconsin, will take individual candidates to places where people naturally gather to talk. Those places may range from bowling alleys to diners to schools to retirement centers to workplaces.

Here's the catch: The candidates won't know specifically where they're going, only that they're meeting with people in a region outside their home territory. The goal is to avoid "arranged" meetings with people who may already support the candidate.

Coverage of these candidate "day trips" will appear in May, June and beyond in the Wisconsin State Journal, on Wisconsin Public Television, on Wisconsin Public Radio and on WISC-TV (Ch. 3) in Madison. Air times and publication dates will be announced later.

Citizens who meet and talk with these candidates on the road may get a second chance to ask questions on behalf of their fellow voters.

On Sept. 5, We the People/Wisconsin will host a forum with the Democratic candidates for governor, to be broadcast statewide on public television and radio, and locally on WISC-TV. A general election forum, also to be broadcast statewide, will be held Oct. 29.

Citizen questioners at those forums will include some of the people the candidates meet on the campaign trail.