League of Women Voters Introduces Fargo Parks and Fargo School Board Candidates

Five people currently sit on the Fargo Parks board and nine sit on the Fargo Public School board

FARGO, N.D. — Five people sit on the Fargo Parks board and nine sit on the Fargo Public School board.

All of those seats are now up for grabs as this year’s City of Fargo elections draw closer.

And if you plan on voting for any of the candidates, some say it’s important to do the research before casting a ballot.

“Figure out who the candidates are. Some of them have names they may have heard of, but they may be running for positions that are new or they haven’t run for this position in a while or it’s an incumbent and you have questions about what they did while they were in office,” said Barbara Headrick, with the League of Women Voters of the Red River Valley.

That’s why Fargo’s League of Women Voters put all of the Fargo Parks and Fargo School board candidates in front of potential voters.

Six people are running for seats on the Fargo Parks Board and more than ten are running for Fargo School Board seats.

Some say the question about how to better protect our schools is of the utmost importance when it comes to these elections.

“I have been hearing a lot about arming teachers and how can we better protect our schools. That’s a good question and I would want to hear about how they would answer that and with what’s going on right now, it’s one of the priorities,” said Matuor Alier, who attended the forum and lives in Fargo.

Questions people asked the Fargo Park Board candidates included resources, if a variety of different needs are being met and if some sports are favored over others.

Whether some people were there just to listen to candidates, some say it’s always important to get involved in local elections.

“It’s pretty important for our community, for our children, for the parents and for the teachers. I think it’s better for all of us to come because we’re making the decisions for the next generation,” Alier said.

Headrick says it’s especially important for people to get involved because the number of people who actually vote is far too low.

“The more voices you hear, the more you have a chance to truly have a representative group picking the leaders,” Headrick said.

The mayor’s position and two of the Fargo City Commission’s seats are also up for reelection this year.

You can meet the candidates at 6:30 on Thursday at Fargo City Hall.