County sheriff candidates to participate in live webchat Friday

The four candidates running for Clark County sheriff will participate in a video interview broadcast live at 3 p.m. Friday on the The Columbian’s website.

Sheriff candidates Chuck Atkins, Shane Gardner, John Graser and Ed Owens, appearing by webcam, will talk about county law enforcement issues and answer questions from the public and The Columbian’s staff about where they stand on the issues. The link for the webcam interview is http://columbian.com/sheriffs-chat.

After the online event, video from the hourlong interview will be posted to Youtube and on www.columbian.com.

This will be the first time The Columbian will broadcast a live video feed of an interview. The interview is intended to be an interactive experience, with viewers capable of posing questions in real time.

The candidates have been busy in recent weeks campaigning for an office that hasn’t seen a change in leadership in more than two decades. The candidate who wins the general election in November will replace retiring Sheriff Garry Lucas, who has not yet endorsed a candidate.

The candidates include two retired commanders, Graser and Atkins, a retired detective, Owens, and a current sergeant, Gardner. Graser and Atkins are running as Republicans, while Gardner is nonpartisan, and Owens is an independent.

Can’t participate in the live event? Email questions for the candidates ahead of time to tyler.graf@columbian.com.