Several major elections are taking place in Lake Charles next month. To keep voters informed, candidate forums and debates are being hosted over the coming weeks.

The headlining election for Lake Charles is the mayoral election. The five candidates running are incumbent Mayor Nic Hunter, Wilford Carter II, Marshall Simien, Jr., James Steward and Khalid Taha.

There also is a race for the District B seat between incumbent Councilmember Luvertha August and Donald Fondel, and the District C seat between Tommy Bilbo, Charles Gallien, Amanda Johnson and Priscilla Sam.

A town hall meeting will be hosted by the Vessel Project of Louisiana at 6 p.m. on Monday, February 24, at Mill Street Church of Christ, 2318 E Mill St.

Mayoral candidates Carter, Simien, Steward and Taha; City Council B candidate Donal Fondel; and City Council District C candidates Amanda Johnson, Charles Gallien and Priscilla Sam have confirmed attendance, Roishetta Sibley Ozane, director and CEO, Vessel Project, told the American Press on Monday. Each participating candidate will receive five minutes to present their platform and participate in a five-minute question-and-answer session.

On Thursday, March 6, a candidate meet-and-greet and mayoral debate will be held at the Lake Charles Event Center, 900 Lakeshore Dr., by the Southwest Louisiana Realtors Voter Outreach. The meet-and-greet will start at 5 p.m. Any local candidate running in a local race can participate and meet directly with constituents. The mayoral debate begins at 6:30. Questions can be submitted by voters online ahead of time.

Another mayoral candidate forum will be hosted at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, at Christian Baptist Church, 4460 5th Ave.