In the News

Four Gubernatorial Candidates Slated To Take Part In March 25 Public Forum On Water Issues At Duke University

Candidates Orr, Moore, Perdue and Munger will take part.

Contact: Bill Holman, (919) 613-8737, bill.holman@duke.edu

March 24, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. – Four gubernatorial candidates have committed to take part in the March 25 public forum on North Carolina water issues to be held at Duke University.

Former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr, State Treasurer Richard Moore, Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue and Libertarian candidate Michael Munger, professor and chair of political science at Duke, have committed to take part in the forum.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University is partnering with seven statewide organizations to host the public forum from 1 to 4 p.m., March 25.

The forum, “The Future of the Water in North Carolina,” will be held in 500-seat Griffith Film Theater in the Bryan Student Center on Duke’s main campus.

Seats are free and available to the public, but should be reserved in advance through the University Box Office at (919) 684-4444 or tickets@duke.edu.  Some same-day tickets may be available by checking at the box office prior to the event.

The organizations partnering with the Nicholas Institute to sponsor the event are: the North Carolina League of Municipalities; the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners; the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center; the Conservation Council of North Carolina; the North Carolina Association of Realtors; the North Carolina Chapter of the Sierra Club; and the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation.

“Water quantity and quality is essential to our state’s economic and environmental health,” said Bill Holman, director of state policy at the Nicholas Institute. “This forum will provide gubernatorial candidates with the opportunity to address water management and conservation issues and discuss options for ensuring that we have clean, abundant water for generations to come.”

Each candidate will make a brief opening statement, respond to questions from the forum’s co-sponsors, and make a closing statement. Questions are being provided to the candidates in advance, Holman said, to allow them ample time to prepare thoughtful answers.

Questions were loaded online last week at http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/institute/news-forumquestions.html.

The forum will be videotaped and made available online at www.nicholas.duke.edu/candidatesforum.

Public parking is available at the Bryan Center Parking Deck, located adjacent to the student center.
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EDITORS’ NOTE: Media seating is available. Advance registration is required. Contact Tim Lucas at (919) 613-8084 or tdlucas@duke.edu.