A candidate forum open to the public will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 28 at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, 10021 NE 124th St. in Kirkland.

All candidates for the 45th State Legislative District, including Sen. Eric Oemig (D), Andy Hill (R), Rep. Larry Springer (D), Mark Isaacs (R), Rep. Roger Goodman (D), and Kevin Haistings (R) have accepted invitations to attend the forum.

The forum is expected to last approximately 90 minutes and will be moderated by Denise Smith, past president of the League of Women Voters of Washington.

Candidates will be asked to answer questions during three different stages. The first stage will include questions prepared by the Advocacy Team of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, the group responsible for organizing the forum. The second stage will be a lightning round where candidates will be asked to answer 10 yes or no questions. The third stage will be questions written on note cards by audience members that will be read by the moderator.

Questions will cover the state budget, education, health care, the environment, housing and other topics that the state legislature will be faced with during the next legislative session beginning in 2011.

The Advocacy Team of Holy Spirit Lutheran Church was created to educate, enable and encourage church and community members to advocate their point of view to government leaders and elected officials.