The forum will be held at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers at North Miami City Hall, 776 NE 125th St.
Candidates will be given an opportunity to disclose their campaign platforms by fielding questions from UM professors, student reporters and North Miami residents.

“We have a right to ask of our leaders what they are thinking before, during and after they lead,” said Sam Grogg, dean of UM’s School of Communication. “Forums are essential to the political process.”

“We are happy that organizations such as local universities and homeowner groups are offering North Miami voters the opportunity to get to know the candidates through public forums,” said Pam Solomon, North Miami’s public information officer. “Such events are an important part of the election process, as voters are more informed when they cast their vote.”

Throughout the spring semester, print journalism graduate students have been researching and reporting on the city’s election for mayor, two council seats and the city clerk’s seat. In addition to profiling each candidate, students created 1-minute videos of each of the 15 candidates. The stories are scheduled to run in the Neighbors section of The Miami Herald and in the Miami Times, a weekly publication that circulates primarily in the city’s black community.

The city of North Miami also will post the students’ stories and videos on its website at:
http://www.northmiamifl.gov/cityhall/city_clerk/vote.asp

UM faculty members working with the students include Tsitsi D. Wakhisi, managing editor of the U/Miami News Service and a journalism professor at the university and former editor at The Miami Herald; Joseph B. Treaster, who holds the John S. and James L. Knight Chair in Cross Cultural Communication, and was a foreign correspondent and international and financial news reporter for The New York Times; and Yves Colon, a former reporter and editor at The Miami Herald and a co-founder and former editor of The Haitian Times.

Assisting students with their new media work are Chris Delboni, the new media coordinator for the Knight Center for International Media Journalism & New Media and a journalism lecturer in the School of Communication; and Paola Prado, UM doctoral student and new media specialist.