Sakonnet Times is hosting a candidates forum for Little Compton Town Council and Little Compton School Committee on Thursday, Oct. 27. The live, in-person forum will take place at the Little Compton Community Center, beginning at 6 p.m.

Though there are full slates of candidates for both bodies, the forum is not expected to include all of them. All Republicans have declined to participate.

In a formal letter to the Sakonnet Times, Little Compton Republican Town Committee member Mike Rocha wrote: “We regret to reply that we are not able to include this forum in our public outreach plan for the 2022 election. Our plan includes a series of community events which are meant to provide a personal opportunity for people to engage with the candidates. Some have already occurred, others are scheduled between now and Election Day. We have found these to be a most effective approach for the candidates to hear personally from the public and to provide specific responses.”

There are eight Republicans running for the eight available seats — five for council and three for school committee. None are expected to attend.

The Oct. 27 forum will be open to the public and live-streamed on Youtube.

Expected to participate are:

• Town council candidates: Andrew Iriarte-Moore (Democrat), Pat McHugh (Democrat), Mikel Folcarelli (Independent), and Polly Allen (Independent);

• School committee candidates: Travis Auty (Democrat), Megan Beaudreau Gonzales (Democrat) and Mark Gleicher (Democrat).

The school committee forum will begin at 6 p.m. The council forum is expected to start around 7:15 p.m. For parents interested in attending either forum, there will be childcare available on site at the community center.

East Bay Media Group General Manager School Pickering will be moderator for the evening. The public is welcome to send questions by Tuesday, Oct. 25, to Sakonnet Times editor Ted Hayes at: thayes@eastbaymediagroup.com.

Go here for the Oct. 27 livestream link.