A Thursday evening forum for Washington City Council candidates helped some city voters determine who they will support in the upcoming municipal election.

Susan Zachary, who regularly attends council meetings, said the forum helped influence her analysis of the 11 candidates and their platforms. “I think it’s very interesting — as you know, I attend a lot of the City Council meetings — and there are people up here who are going to be running for council that I have never seen at a City Council meeting,” she said.

Zachary was one of several forum attendees who have expressed their views on various issues during the public-comment section of council meetings and/or at public hearings on other issues related to city government.

Jerry Kreech, who also attends council meetings fairly regularly, said the forum absolutely provided him with needed information about the candidates. “I came in kind of with a predetermined (view), but I changed my mind,” he said.

Georgia Smallwood listened attentively as 10 of the candidates and the representative of another candidate unable to attend the forum made statements and answered questions posed by forum organizers. “I don’t think that a candidate should go on promises and not telling the people who they are going to represent what he’s actually going to do, what his views are,” she said. “It’s easy to say ‘I am good,’ but what are you good at? I think (Thursday night) we could see what they are good at; we could see their intentions. Education was one of the primary things. Economic growth was another primary thing. Humanity, diversity — all of these are things that Washington needs.”

“I was very impressed,” Smallwood said.

The forum, sponsored by Beaufort County Indivisible, a progressive organization, and the Beaufort County branch of the NAACP, was held at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality regional office at Washington Square Mall. The 11 candidates include incumbents Richard Brooks, Virginia Finnerty, Doug Mercer and William Pitt. Councilman Larry Beeman is not seeking re-election. Former council member Gil Davis, William “Bill” Clark, Robert Sands, John Butler, Roland Wyman, Gil Alligood and Gerald Seighman also are vying for council seats. Davis did not attend the forum because of a previous commitment. His wife, Susan, made a statement on his behalf. Council members serve two-year terms.

Addressing the city’s flooding and drainage problems, improving the city’s chances for economic growth by providing educational opportunities related to gaining needed job skills and getting the community to help city officials develop a unified “vision” for the city’s future were among common issues discussed by the candidates. They also called for improving the relationship between the city and Beaufort County government in an effort to jointly address issues that affect both the city and county.

The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming Nov. 7 municipal elections in Beaufort County is 5 p.m. Oct. 13.

One-stop voting begins Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 4 at the Beaufort County Board of Elections, 1308 Highland Drive, Suite 104, Washington. Early voting (one-stop) will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 4.