This Thursday, May 7, at the Swampscott High School Auditorium, there will be a Forum featuring candidates for the 6th District Congressional Seat. It takes place just weeks before the Democratic State Convention and is one of the few at which all seven of the current candidates will appear.

The Auditorium is located at 200 Essex Street in Swampscott. As the attendees enter, each will be given a ballot. As they leave, they will cast that ballot, choosing which candidate they believe should take office to replace Congressman Seth Moulton, who, this year, is competing for the US Senate against Senator Markey. The ballots will be counted that night, and the results will be released when completed.

Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. so that attendees and candidates can engage with one another prior to the Forum starting at precisely 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring 3×5 cards with written comments to be handed to the candidates, expressing opinions on the issues important to them. Handing a comment or asking a question to a live person, right in front of them, is far more intimate than an email and perhaps more impactful.

They may also drop comments in the box that will be used to collect ballots, highlighting the issues most important to them.

The Forum will end at 9 p.m. Attendees and candidates will then be able to continue to engage for 45 minutes after the conclusion of the Forum.

The event is sponsored by the Democratic Town Committees of Nahant, Swampscott, and Marblehead. Attorney James Peterson of Salem, the Moderator, recently commented, “One of these folks will be our Representative in Congress. They should see and hear from us. And they will!”

Peterson, who lives in Swampscott, urged the public to send proposed questions to him at [email protected]. He says that the questions he will ask will be “unrepetitive, tough, and pointed.”

Forum participants will be Dan Koh, John Beccia, Jamie Belsito, Mariah Lancaster, Tram Nguyen, and Bethany Andres-Beck.