Des Moines Mayor Endorses Historic Heartland Presidential Forum |
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All Presidential Candidates invited to Engage in Dialogue with Everyday People on December 1
For Immediate Release: Monday, October 15, 2007 (DES MOINES, IOWA) Mayor T. M. Franklin Cownie has expressed his commitment to everyday people getting an opportunity to engage directly with presidential candidates by supporting the Heartland Presidential Forum: Community Values in Action to take place on Saturday, December 1, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. at Hy-Vee Hall in the Iowa Events Center. Organizers expect 5,000 people to attend what is likely to be the final major forum in Iowa before the first primary vote is cast. “We are pleased Mayor Cownie sees the importance of this event. We look forward to the Mayor welcoming the thousands of Iowa and Heartland citizens who will converge on beautiful Des Moines on December 1,” said Hugh Espey, executive director, Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, one of the forum’s organizers. Forum goers will march from Nollen Plaza in downtown to Hy-Vee Hall as the official start to the unprecedented forum. Unlike most presidential forums to date, the Heartland Presidential Forum will provide Iowans with the opportunity to hear unscripted responses from candidates from both major parties. Candidates will engage in a unique one-on-one dialogue with everyday people about the community values that are important to them and the kind of America they want to live in. “I am honored to roll out the welcome mat for thousands of Iowans as well as our neighbors across the Heartland for this unprecedented forum. This event allows us to get honest answers on real issues that concern people from the heartland. The message of community values is an obvious fit for Iowans,” said Mayor Cownie. “In Iowa, we look out for our neighbors and we resist partisan politics that tend to isolate us from societal problems and solutions that affect us all.” The Heartland Forum is the marquee event of a major national campaign led by national nonprofit Center for Community Change and hundreds of grassroots groups across the country. The Campaign for Community Values intends to offer a credible alternative to the individualistic mentality that has guided poor policy decision making on the national level. This forum represents an important part of history as it will provide the candidates with the opportunity to address issues based on community values that binds all communities together. Thousands of voters in Iowa and forum attendees are still undecided on who they will support on caucus day. As a follow up to the presidential forum, the Iowa CCI will register people to vote, collect commitments of Iowans to attend caucus day and provide training on what to do during the anticipated caucus. Mayor Cownie’s endorsement is one of several as the Iowa political establishment and religious community has embraced this event. For more information visit www.iowaheartlandforum.org. |
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