MANSFIELD — A six-week “listening tour” concludes Monday evening with a final Talk the Vote session in the city’s 6th Ward.

The last stop on the tour will be at the SC Events Center, 417 Orange St., from 6 to 7 p.m.

Just as in the last five Mondays, from 6 to 7 p.m. you are invited to join us and share your questions and concerns about the future of the city through a guided discussion.

Previous stops during the listening tour were at Mansfield Christian School (1st Ward), Richland Source Publisher Jay Allred’s home (2nd Ward), Theatre 166 (3rd Ward), Richland Source (4th Ward) and the North End Community Improvement Collaborative (5th Ward).

We limit these evening discussions to an hour. These meetings are designed to be smaller, more intimate gatherings, during which residents/voters should feel comfortable asking questions and sharing what they believe should be priorities in the next term.

If you’re a candidate that will be on the Mansfield ballot this coming November, you’re more than welcome to attend as well – but as an observer. The most important participants are your fellow Mansfield citizens and voters, so this is a campaign-free zone. 

Our goal in these discussions is twofold: One, to collect questions and discussion topics for the Mansfield Mayoral Debate, hosted in part by Richland Source, on Thursday evening at The Renaissance Theatre.

Free tickets to Thursday’s debate are available here. Nearly 850 residents have already reserved seats in the 1,400-seat historic theatre.

The second goal of Talk the Vote is to create what we’re calling “The People’s Agenda,” which we will publish on Nov. 6. We will compile what we heard from Mansfield residents about their top priorities for their newly-elected government officials, and send those priorities directly to the new mayor and city council.

If you have questions about any of the events, contact Brittany Schock via email at brittany@richlandsource.com or call 419-989-6534. 

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City editor. 30-year plus journalist. Husband. Father of 3 grown sons and also a proud grandpa. Prior military journalist in U.S. Navy, Ohio Air National Guard. -- Favorite quote: "Where were you when...