LEWISTON – Maine’s gubernatorial candidates have signed on for a Lewiston property tax forum, assuming they can all agree on a date.

Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat; Republican challenger Chandler Woodcock; Green independent Pat LaMarche and independent Barbara Merrill have all said they would attend a forum in the Lewiston City Council chambers before the November election.

“But we haven’t had much luck working out the schedules just yet,” said Deputy City Administrator Phil Nadeau.

The forum ties into the City Council’s decision in May to delay a property revaluation that would have shifted the tax burden onto residential property owners. Councilors pointed to the shift as evidence that Maine’s tax system was broken, and they called on state leaders to come up with solutions.

“I think we could probably fill a couple of hours easily just talking about TABOR,” Nadeau said. “It’s going to be important to hear what they have to say about it, whether or not they support it, and what they think it’ll mean for service-center communities like Lewiston. If they are supporting it, they need to tell us why and convince us.”

Bennett said the forum would be televised on Great Falls TV, Lewiston-Auburn’s local access cable channel. It would be scheduled for sometime in early October in the City Council chambers.