Denton voters will have several chances to pose questions to candidates in the City Council races between now and election day May 8.

A series of candidate forums will kick off Monday at Central Fire Station with a question-and-answer session hosted by the Denton Fire Fighters Association. Other groups planning forums for the city races include the Denton County NAACP, the Denton Neighborhood Alliance and the Denia Area Community Group.

The May ballot includes contested races for Denton mayor and the other two at-large council seats.

Mayor Mark Burroughs, a lawyer seeking a second two-year term, faces a challenge from Denton political activist Bob Clifton. Mayor Pro Tem Pete Kamp, a businesswoman and council member since 2003, is opposed by freelance broadcast journalist Eliborio “Eli Gemini” Beltrán in the race for Place 5.

Five candidates are running for the Place 6 seat Joe Mulroy is leaving because of term limits. They are Jason Bunch, an administrative assistant; James King, an insurance agent; Phil Kregel, a real estate agent; Eric Mach, who works in maintenance; and Hatice I. Salih, who runs a Denton meat market.

Willie Hudspeth, vice chairman of the local NAACP, said the yearly forums serve a crucial role in educating voters. His organization will host two forums this week for Denton city and school board candidates.

“Many times they don’t have name recognition,” Hudspeth said. “We can’t distinguish, based on their names, who they are and what they stand for, and the forums have provided an excellent way of doing that.”

But talk can be cheap, Hudspeth said, and NAACP leaders plan to start recording the forums so they can better compare candidates’ rhetoric with their actions once elected.

“When we’ve had these forums before, they’ve promised a lot of things,” he said. “Now they’ll be videotaped and archived.”

LOWELL BROWN can be reached at 940-566-6882. His e-mail address is lmbrown@dentonrc.com.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE FORUMS

A string of public forums is scheduled to let voters learn more about candidates in the May 8 Denton City Council races. The forums listed below are for at-large Places 5 and 6 and the mayor’s seat (Place 7), unless otherwise noted.

Denton Fire Fighters Association forum

When: 7 p.m. Monday (a social hour starts at 6 p.m.)

Where: Central Fire Station, 332 E. Hickory St.

Denton County NAACP forum

When: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday

Where: Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, 1300 Wilson St.

Note: The NAACP will also host a candidate forum for Denton school board candidates from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the same location.

Denton Area Community Group forum (Place 6 only)

When: 7 p.m. March 29

Where: Denia Recreation Center, 1001 Parvin St.

Denton Neighborhood Alliance forum

When: 7 p.m. April 15

Where: City Hall, 215 E. McKinney St.