Voters to hear from DiLorenzo, Shaheen at congressional candidate forum Tuesday

MEREDITH — The Laconia Daily Sun, New Hampshire Public Radio, and the Granite State News Collaborative are hosting a candidate forum next week, where moderators will seek answers from candidates for the seat in the 1st Congressional District. Voters can hear directly from Republican Anthony DiLorenzo and Democrat Stefany Shaheen, at the event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Twin Barns Brewing Co. 

The goal for the forum is to provide a venue for candidates to discuss issues and concerns that directly impact voters. This year, the series of forums, featuring candidates for office in the General Election, will travel statewide. In 2024, similar events were held at NHPR's studio in Concord.

“This year, as we were talking and planning, we were like, 'Wouldn't it be great if we could kind of take these on the road a little bit, so we can get out into different parts of the state, and maybe reach people who normally wouldn't be tuning in to NHPR, or reading a story about the forum that's going to show up someplace else,'” said Melanie Plenda, executive director of the Granite State News Collaborative.

Plenda emphasized the collaboration between media outlet partners. Teams of editors and reporters from across the state are assigned to each race, to research candidates and their positions, forming questions as well as follow-ups, thinking through possible answers, fact-checking, and going through questions coming in from the public.

“They've all agreed to do this deep, intensive work to make sure that these forums are really informative for communities around the state. And it really is such a collaborative process, because there's outlets from all over,” Plenda said. “And then for the actual events themselves, there's another place where we're having different outlets agree to be the moderators, and that might be different than the people who generated the questions.”

The candidate forums are held through the month of October. NHPR and the Granite State News Collaborative aim to educate New Hampshire residents about candidates who will appear on their ballot Nov. 3. In partnership with the Keene Sentinel and the Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, NHPR will host a forum for 2nd Congressional District candidates on Thursday, Oct. 15, at Brewbakers Cafe in Keene; a gubernatorial forum in partnership with Manchester Ink Link on Thursday, Oct. 22, at Harpoon at Queen City Center in Manchester; and a U.S. Senate race forum in partnership with the Valley News on Thursday, Oct. 29, at The Howe Library in Hanover. All forums are open to the public at no cost, with next-day broadcasts on NHPR.

“It was really a matter of how do we bring all of these people from around the state who have all these great superpowers and this deep knowledge of their communities to this event?” Plenda said. “And so, that's what we did.”

Plenda said voters can send questions, or watch the broadcast, but the best way to get involved is through attending the forums.

“It costs nothing to come out and really be able to get the measure of a candidate with your own eyes, and participate and talk with other folks about the candidates,” Plenda said. “Just being in the room. So, I think that's an invaluable experience, and such a great way to get involved in this process.”

Plenda noted the venues for the forums are fun, local spots, accessible for residents.

“We want to be able to get the best information out of these candidates, so that the voters have all the information they need to make the choice that they need to make, and the choice that's right for them,” Plenda said. “And we really have all been unified by that purpose, and it's been a really lovely thing to be a part of that process, because it feels very much a deep respect and passion for the communities around this state that I'm seeing, and all these reporters and editors. And it's just been a really wonderful experience to be a part of.”

Doors open at 5 p.m. ahead of the forum next Tuesday at Twin Barns. To register for the event, visit laconiadailysun.com/candidateforum.

Voters can send questions for DiLorenzo and Shaheen to voices@nhpr.org. 

NHPR will broadcast the forum at 9 a.m., and again at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, and the recording will be available at NHPR.org. Print coverage will also appear in The Laconia Daily Sun.