Twenty-four of the city’s 28 council candidates have already announced their intention to attend the Ballarat Residents and Ratepayers Association and the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (M.A.D.E) seminar at the Town Hall on Sunday.

BRRA's governance working group convener and former Ballarat City Council mayor John Barnes implored the community to attend the Meet The Candidate Forum to learn about who is standing in their ward.

“I believe it’s important candidates get exposed to a broader audience than perhaps they do when they are only surrounded by supporters,” Mr Barnes said. “For those who take an interest in it, it’s a wonderful opportunity to learn about who could be representing them for the next four years.”

“They get to see, hear, and if they like, challenge the people who are asking for their vote.”

Candidates will be given two minutes to introduce themselves.

“They will all then then respond to two standard questions which will be different for sitting councillors compared to new candidates and given no more than a minute to respond to each question,” Mr Barnes said.

He said the public will then have an opportunity to approach candidates with their own questions.

“The aim is to host an informal, yet engaging public forum that gives both, candidates and the public, the opportunity to be heard,” he said.

Each of the candidates will be divided into the ward they are standing. Central ward candidates will be in the Town Hall’s Central Committee Room 2, north ward candidates in the Trench Room and south ward candidates in the Reception Ward. 

The highest number of candidates recorded was 12 residents standing in the city’s south ward. There are seven candidate standing in the central ward and nine standing in the north ward. 

M.A.D.E acting chief executive Sarah Masters said encouraging discussion in the democratic process was critical. 

“Local government is the level of government to which people have the closest connection, so promoting active citizenship and supporting BRRA in running a forum like this is a no-brainer,” she said. 

The Meet The Candidates forum will be held from 2 to 4pm at the Town Hall, Sturt Street.