Cryan holding Democratic presidential forum — and straw vote

State Sen. Joseph Cryan is holding a presidential candidates forum next week and is bringing in voting machines to allow attendees to vote at an event sponsored by the Union Township Democratic Party.

Representatives of six candidates – Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sander and Elizabeth Warren, will attend.  The campaigns of Tom Steyer and Tulsi Gabbard are not participating.

Attendance – and the vote – will be open to registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters from anywhere in Union County.

According to rules of the forum, each surrogate will speak for three minutes.  After that questions submitted in writing to a three-person panel will be selected; questions should be addressed to all candidates, not targeted to a specific campaign.  Each campaign will have the chance to make a three-minute closing statement.

The forum will be moderated by Union Democratic Club president Nadege Ricketts.

Cryan, a former New Jersey Democratic State Chairman, has served as Union Township Democratic municipal chairman since 1995.