NEW ORLEANS — In anticipation of the upcoming Orleans Parish judicial primary elections on Tuesday, Nov. 4, a coalition of civically engaged community organizations will host the 2014 Orleans Parish Judicial Candidates Forum on Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Touro Synagogue, 4238 St. Charles Ave.
The forum will focus on educating voters in Orleans Parish about the impact of judicial elections and introduce the public to the current judicial candidates. During the event, voters will hear from both Juvenile and Criminal Court judicial candidates in two moderated question and answer sessions.
“The upcoming judicial elections play a vital role in shaping the leadership of the New Orleans judicial system,” Brad Cousins, Executive Director of Court Watch NOLA, said. “We believe that this forum will provide the public with the tools needed to make an educated decision at the polls about who are the right voices to lead the New Orleans judicial system.”
Invitations to participate in the upcoming forum were extended to all eligible candidates that qualified to run in the Orleans Parish judicial primary election on Tuesday, Nov. 4. Of note, the forum will not feature judges in Criminal Court sections A, B, C, E, F, H, I, J, K, L as these judges are running unopposed and will be automatically reelected.
Juvenile Court judicial candidates confirmed for the upcoming forum from Section E include:
Jacqueline Carroll-Gilds
Ernest “Freddie” Charbonnet
Desiree Cook-Calvin
Hon. Yolanda King
Niki Roberts
Cynthia D. Samuels
Criminal Court judicial candidates confirmed for the upcoming forum from Section D include:
Graham Bosworth
Marie Williams
Criminal Court judicial candidates confirmed for the upcoming forum from Section G include:
Hon. Paul N. Sens
Byron C. Williams
The 2014 Orleans Parish Judicial Candidates Forum will by moderated by Lee Zurik with a webcast by WYES. The forum is free and open to the public with parking available in the Academy of the Sacred Heart’s parking lot on Carondelet Street between General Pershing and Milan.
Community organizations sponsoring the 2014 Orleans Parish Judicial Candidates Forum include: Baptist Community Ministries; Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region; Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans; Court Watch NOLA; Crimestoppers GNO; Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights; League Of Women Voters of New Orleans; National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans; New Orleans Crime Coalition; New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation; Partnership for Youth Development; Touro Synagogue; Urban League of Greater New Orleans; Young Leadership Council; and Youth Empowerment Project.
