ACC to Host Town Hall Debate between McCain, Obama Campaigns

LITTLETON – Students at Arapahoe Community College and community members in the area will be able to participate in a live town hall debate between representatives of the Obama and McCain campaigns on Oct. 20. ACC’s Student Affairs and the Political Science Program will sponsor the town hall style debate in Waring Theatre at ACC from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

John Ratliff, full-time ACC sociology and political science faculty member, organized the debate and will serve as moderator. “It’s important that ACC students and members of the general public in Arapahoe County and the surrounding area have the opportunity to participate in a live town hall debate between the two parties. They will have a chance to hear both sides and to ask questions important to us here in Littleton and Denver.”

Both campaigns see Colorado as critical to their chances, according to a Fox 31 news report. On Oct. 2, Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain talked to about 1,000 women at a town hall meeting in downtown Denver. Three days earlier, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama visited Colorado, one day after a stop in Boulder by Michelle Obama.

“Not only is Colorado a swing state in this election, but Arapahoe County is a swing county,” Ratliff said. “We’re right at the heart of the campaign.”

With the Town Hall style format, Ratliff will request and review questions from the audience. The debate format will be patterned after the town hall style of tonight’s second presidential debate.

The event is free and open to the public. The Main Campus of Arapahoe Community College is located on the east side of Santa Fe at College Dr., at 5900 South Santa Fe Dr., just south of historic downtown Littleton. Waring Theatre is in the Main Building, Room M2900.

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