Politics & Government

House Candidates Golden, VanRaaphorst To Debate Wednesday

State Rep. Tom McMillin will also attend candidate forum sponsored by League of Women Voters.

Ted Golden and Joanna VanRaaphorst, both Democratic candidates for the 45th District House seat that represents Rochester and Rochester Hills, will face off on local issues this week.

The debate, sponsored by the Oakland County chapter of the League of Women Voters, is planned for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at . The public is invited to attend; the debate will be broadcast live on Comcast channel 20, WOW channel 10 and AT&T channel 99. It will also be replayed several times before the Aug. 7 primary election.

VanRaaphorst, of Oakland Township, has a background in sales and marketing and is an active volunteer in several community organizations. This is her first campaign. Read about .

Find out what's happening in Rochester-Rochester Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Golden is a dermatologist and activist. He first ran for this seat in 2008. Read about .

Douglas Wilson is also on the ballot as a Democrat in the primary; according to debate coordinators, Wilson did not respond to the League's invitation to the debate.  

Find out what's happening in Rochester-Rochester Hillswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The winner of the August primary will face Republican Tom McMillin, the incumbent, in November.

McMillin also did not respond to the debate invitation. 

UPDATE, July 17: McMillin has said he will attend the candidate forum.

What would you ask the candidates?

Candidates will have one minute to make an opening statement before the debate begins. After those statements, they will be questioned alternately by audience members and by a panel that includes the editor of the one and only Rochester Patch.

In preparation for the debate, we're reaching out to our readers: what would YOU ask these two candidates? Which local issues should we bring up? How can we help you make an informed vote?

Send your questions to Rochester Patch editor Kristin Bull at kristin.bull@patch.com. Or, post your questions in the comments here. 


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