Hickory City Council Election 2009 + WHKY presentations and HYP Forum to be held at the Chamber of Commerce on 10/29/2009

This past week the candidates from Ward 4 and Ward 6 were on the First Talk radio show with Hal Row to answer a series of questions about their views on City Council governance. The links to the audio of those segments are below. Also, there will be a "Hickory City Council Candidates' Forum" on Thursday, October 29 at 6:30pm to be held at the Chamber of Commerce (off of Highway 70 behind the Gateway Center).

The Hickory Young Professionals are hosting this Forum to give each of the 4 candidates an opportunity to answer questions and hear feedback from their potential constituents before the election. The forum is FREE and open to the public, but seating is limited, so be there early!

For each of the contested seats, the two incumbent candidates are being challenged by one other candidate. The candidates running for these seats, and to be present at the forum are as follows:

Z. Ann Hoyle is the incumbent in Ward 4. She is from the Ridgeview area and is a strong supporter and advocate for the African-American community. She has served on the city council since 1990. Audio Download link to Ms. Hoyle's appearance on Hal Row's Show.

Hank Guess is the challenger in Ward 4. He is a Retired former Police Captain with the City of Hickory. He resides in the Mountain View area. Audio Download link to Mr. Guess's appearance on Hal Row's Show.

Jill Patton is the incumbent in Ward 6. She lives in Northwest Hickory. She is the Vice-President of DeFeet Hosiery in Hildebran. Mrs. Patton has served on the council since 2005. Audio link to Mrs. Patton's appearance on Hal Row's Show.

Harry Hipps is the challenger in Ward 6. He is from Newton and a lifelong resident of Catawba County. He has been a resident in Hickory since 1998 and manages the Pretzel Time store in the Valley Hills Mall. Audio Link to Mr. Hipp's appearance on Hal Row's Show.

I Hope that you will all listen to the audio above and attend this forum on Thursday. It is important that the people of this community begin to participate in the political process. Hal's show and this forum were put together to allow you to have more information, so that you might have a better understanding of where the candidates stand on the issues and so that you might be able to make a more informed decision come next Tuesday, November 3rd.