The Batten School held a forum for candidates running for the fifth district congressional seat Wednesday night.
Approximately 60 people were in attendance, including students and community members.
Five candidates running for the seat were in attendance: Andrew Griffin (R), James McKelvey (R), Joseph Whited (R), Michael Del Rosso (R) and Thomas Garrett (R).
All candidates were invited to attend the forum, regardless of political affiliation. Democratic candidate Jane Dittmar was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict.
The forum was moderated by Batten Prof. Gerald Warburg and Batten Dean Allan Stam.
Warburg said the purpose of the forum was to enlighten voters about where the candidates stand on the “big issues of our time.”
The event began with Warburg reviewing the ground rules for the forum: each candidate would make an opening statement, followed by a series of questions in which the candidates had 60 seconds to respond, and would end with a closing statement.
All questions were prepared in advance by a bipartisan committee, and the candidates had no prior knowledge of the questions.
During the opening statements, the candidates briefly discussed their purpose for running and their qualifications.
Both McKelvey and Whited said they were running to help influence change. Del Rosso and Garrett said they were qualified to serve as congressman. Griffin spoke about how he is a 28-year-old millennial.
“Five people on this stage are qualified,” Garrett said. “One person on this stage has won an election. One person on this stage has beaten a Democrat, passed a bill, killed a bill. My entire adult life has been devoted to service, and at every stop, I have succeeded. I believe I am most qualified.”
The candidates were then asked a variety of questions ranging from their overall goals for the position to military spending to higher education.
Griffin said his goal for office would be to improve the workforce for students graduating from college.
“One of the issues I’m most passionate about is creating jobs for our graduating students,” Griffin said. “The best thing we can do is start creating jobs and creating opportunities.”
McKelvey said his intent is “to return this country to the Constitution.”
Garrett said he plans to stand up for “the principles that have made the United States the greatest country in the world.”
On the issue of bipartisanship, all of the candidates said they would be willing to work across party lines on some issues, such as tax reform, education and national security.
However, Griffin said there are some issues on which he would prefer to “compromise” rather than work across party lines, including Planned Parenthood and immigration reform.
For the final question, candidates were asked about the federal government’s role in higher education, an issue affecting many of the audience members in attendance.
The candidates had a variety of responses, but they all centered on the federal government having limited responsibility.
Griffin said the government should begin addressing the issue by cutting the amount of federal student loans students can receive, while Del Rosso said he believes there shouldn’t be a student loan program at the federal level at all.
Whited, McKelvey and Griffin all said the issue begins at the high school and local level.
Several of the candidates said they believe the focus of higher education needs to be preparing students for the workforce.
“We have to stop telling young people to study whatever they want,” Garrett said.
Second-year College student Jordan Harris attended the forum because he said he believes in the importance of getting engaged in the political process and being informed about who is elected to Congress.
While Harris said he wasn’t drawn to any particular candidate, he appreciated how the candidates presented actual solutions to the problems.
“[The part that] I found most informative was their willingness to change what everyone sees as [a] broken Congress … to what would be the best solutions for the American people,” Harris said.
All of the candidates who attended the forum will compete in the fifth district Republican primary June 14.
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