Voters will have a chance to ask local candidates questions of their choice Thursday evening.

The Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a Candidate Forum at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Lady Luck Hotel on Canal Street.

&uot;Each candidate will have an opportunity to make opening remarks and then one at a time, each candidate will field questions from the audience and from the Chamber of Commerce legislative affairs committee,&uot; said Fred Middleton, chairman of the Legislative Affairs Committee for the Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce.

The format of the evening has been carefully designed to avoid heated remarks, Middleton said.

&uot;The questions will be written down and given to a panel member, and then the panel will look over those questions and pass them along to me and I’ll ask the questions,&uot; Middleton said.

&uot;This will not turn into a slug fest,&uot; he said. &uot;We will not allow questions that are unfair.&uot;

The format is designed so that each candidate may be asked the same questions and given fair opportunity to respond, Middleton said.

Hot topics for the evening are expected to be term limitations, economic development and elected versus appointed school boards.

&uot;But no personal issues will be resolved there,&uot; he said.

Candidates already signed up for the evening include: Andrew Ketchings, Pam Ferrington, Sammy Cauthen, Branon Pesnell, M.L. &uot;Binky&uot; Vines, Fred Ferguson, James Lee and Pat Powers.

&uot;It’s important to come out and hear the candidates and hear their platforms,&uot; Middleton said.

&uot;This is an opportunity to meet the candidates face to face. Natchez is at a crossroads and I think it’s important that citizens have this opportunity.&uot;