PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for City Council are taking their favorite old musical recordings off the shelf to broadcast over the airwaves at KPTZ 91.9 FM in Port Townsend.
The program is envisioned as a more informal, less traditional way to evaluate candidates’ suitability for office.
Live streaming of the broadcast on the nonprofit radio station can be accessed here: https://kptz.org/listen/
Candidates facing opposition in their bids for council seats have been invited to share their most cherished tunes with the public as part of an ongoing segment on “Surgical Focus,” which is hosted by disc jockey Jarrod Paul Bramson at 7:30 p.m. on selected Wednesdays on KPTZ.
During tonight’s broadcast, Charlie Bermant, Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County editor, will join Bramson to ask Position 6 candidate Paul Rice, one of three hopefuls for the seat, about his political views and musical tastes.
“We are offering each candidate in each City Council race the same opportunity,” said Larry Stein, KPTZ program director.
“They’ll bring some of their favorite music, and Charlie will lead the questioning about the campaign and the candidate.”
For those who cannot listen in to the live broadcast, KPTZ plans to post an edited version of the interviews on its website at www.kptz.org, Stein said.
However, the recordings will not include the music shared by each candidate because music licensing rules prohibit placing it on a podcast, Stein said.
Position 7 candidates David Faber and Travis Keena previously appeared on May 20 and May 27, respectively, sharing their music and political opinions.
Rice’s opponent
On July 1, one of Rice’s opponents, Amy Smith, will have her own go in front of the turntables.
Todd Wexman, who also is running for Position 6, has been invited but has so far declined, Bermant said.
The race with three candidates will be on the Aug. 4 primary election ballot. The top two vote-getters will appear on the November general election ballot.
Since the contest for Position 7 has only two candidates, it will appear only on the November ballot.
“People who listen to these interviews will get a better picture of what the candidates are like personally than at a standard forum where there are a lot of time and topic restrictions,” Bermant said.
“The music they bring in is an indicator of their personality and background, although I’d hate to see someone use this preference as the sole decider for casting a vote.”
That dynamic goes well with the laid-back atmosphere at the nonprofit radio station.
“One of our main goals for KPTZ was to cover local issues and local news as much as possible with an all-volunteer staff and a small start-up budget,” Stein said.
“Our hosts have stepped up to do what we can, and Jarrod and Charlie came to me with this idea.
“I like the variation on the traditional candidate interview or debate format. Why not find out more about the candidate and give the listener a more rounded picture of them?”
Candidates for other offices as well as those running unopposed for their seats also may be invited to participate in similar segments over the summer, but the schedule has not been determined.
Stein said the segments do not rule out any other, more traditional candidate interviews or forums as the election approaches.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
