VIDALIA — Five candidates will take the stage tonight and debate the issues for the upcoming Oct. 4 election.

Seventh Judicial Court Division “A” incumbent Kathy Johnson and challenger John Reeves will debate, as will District Attorney candidates Brad Burget, Andy Magoun and Ronnie McMillin.

The debate will be at 6 p.m. at the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center.

The event will be more than a meet-and-greet forum, moderator Derrick Carson said.

“This will be an actual debate, with a moderator,” he said. “The moderator will ask one candidate a question, and will give the others a chance to respond.”

Each candidate will also be allowed a chance for a rebuttal to any points his opponents raise.

Sponsored by the Catahoula-Concordia Parish NAACP, the Concordia Parish Republican Executive Committee and the tri-parish ministerial alliance, this is the second debate for the candidates.

The same group, now along with the Concordia Parish Democratic Executive Committee, sponsored the first debate.

The first debate was in Ferriday last Thursday, but because they were late in getting the word out only 50 to 60 people attended, Carson said.

“After the last debate, the interest grew and a lot of people in Vidalia were interested, so that is why it was moved there,” he said.

No question will be off limits, with the exception of inappropriate questions about family or questions that the candidates cannot ethically answer, Carson said.

An example of a question the candidates could not ethically answer would be about a current open case they might know details about.

Questions the candidates will face will include queries about the operations of the court, budgetary questions, management of court documents, management of offices and personal associations, Carson said.

The public will be allowed to submit questions for consideration.

“We will provide them with that opportunity with the understanding that their question may not be asked,” Carson said. “That may be because we have already covered it in a previous question or because it is not appropriate.”

The debate between the judge candidates is expected to last between 30 and 45 minutes, and the debate between the DA candidates should last no longer than an hour. Johnson is a Jonesville resident, and has been judge since 1996. Reeves is the town attorney for Harrisonburg, where he lives.

Burget and McMillin both reside in Vidalia, while Magoun has a Monterey address. Magoun formerly worked as an assistant district attorney and now serves as an indigent defender, while both Burget and McMillin stepped aside as assistant district attorneys to campaign.