Check out candidate interviews for April 6 election

Become an informed voter by listening or watching candidates for races in Springfield.

Schools. Traffic. That building going up down the street. Local elections impact each of us in ways big and small. In April, Springfield voters will decide who will represent them on school board and city council and who leads the city as mayor.

You can become an informed voter before Election Day through virtual candidate interviews produced by the League of Women Voters of Southwest Missouri and a coalition of other community organizations. The programs will feature candidates for Springfield Public Schools board of education, Springfield city council and Springfield mayor. Election Day is April 6.

To access the interviews, tune in to KSMU Ozarks Public Radio (91.1 FM) the week of March 15. During the noon hour Monday through Thursday, KSMU will air one or two races. For convenient viewing of the video version, check the YouTube channel of the League of SWMO or the KSMU website. Check the League’s Facebook page for more information.

Each candidate will be individually interviewed, answering questions developed by the candidate forum coalition. Each race will have its own segment. For example, candidate interviews for City Council Zone 1 will run at the same time.

The League, under the leadership of Lisa Langley, spearheaded this coalition in fall 2019 to produce forums for the August 2019 and November 2020 elections. The groups—all nonpartisan—share the goals of educating voters and engaging candidates with citizens.

In addition to the League, the other organizations are:

  • Be Civil Be Heard
  • Drury University’s L.E. Meador Center for Politics & Citizenship
  • Junior League of Springfield
  • KSMU Ozarks Public Radio
  • Leadership Springfield
  • Missouri State University’s Office of Public Affairs
  • NAACP Springfield
  • Ozarks Technical Community College’s Social Sciences Department with Politically Active, a nonpartisan OTC student organization
  • Springfield-Greene County Library District

For more information, contact Lisa Langley or the League at 417.501.6067.