The Daily News will host a forum for both candidates for Bowling Green mayor at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Bowling Green Junior High School auditorium.

The event is free and open to the public. The forum will be moderated by Daily News Managing Editor Wes Swietek.

“We look forward to providing Bowling Green residents a chance to hear from the candidates and answer questions about their visions for the city,” Swietek said.

Each candidate will make opening and closing remarks. The forum will feature questions for both candidates with an opportunity for attendees to submit questions.

Joe Imel, publisher of the Daily News, described the forum as an integral part of the newspaper’s role in the community.

“Hosting this mayoral forum is a key part of the newspaper’s civic duty to engage the public and stakeholders, and to further spotlight how important local elections are to our community,” Imel said.

Todd Alcott, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and a retired JROTC teacher at Warren East High School, was elected mayor in 2020 after then-Mayor Bruce Wilkerson suspended his own reelection campaign. 

Alcott told the Daily News he is looking forward to the forum as an opportunity for members of the public to meet both candidates in the election.

“They can see their current mayor, and understand a how proud I am of the accomplishments that we have (made) over the last four years, and to hear from me directly about what we can do henceforward,” Alcott said.

Alcott is facing a challenge from Patti Minter, a professor of history at Western Kentucky University. Minter previously represented Bowling Green in the Kentucky General Assembly from 2018 to 2022, when she was unseated by current State Rep. Kevin Jackson.

Minter told the Daily News she is excited to speak with voters about her past work with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and what she will be able to do with Beshear for Bowling Green.

“The next four years will determine what the next 25 to 50 years look like in Bowling Green, as we double in size and growth continues,” Minter said. “I hope that each candidate’s vision for the future will become clearer for the voters, and I’m looking forward to talking about my plans for smart growth.”

The race for mayor is nonpartisan. The forum will be broadcast live on The Daily News’ Facebook page.