LEWISTON – Representatives for Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Dennis Kucinich will speak, then answer questions from the audience, Thursday night at Bates College, according to Will Fessenden, chairman of the Androscoggin County Democrats, which is hosting the forum.

Currently, there is no representative for candidate John Edwards scheduled to appear, Fessenden said. And the names of the Kucinich, Obama and Clinton speakers weren’t available Tuesday, Fessenden said. He said as planned they’ll be paid staffers for the campaigns. “They won’t just be local activists, but someone signed on by the campaign to speak for the candidates.”

Each will have five to 10 minutes to speak for their candidates. After, they’ll answer questions from the audience. That will be followed by a straw vote on which candidates the audience favors, Fessenden said.

National debates are being shown on television, but “Mainers tend to react more to one-on-one from the individual campaigns,” Fessenden said. “We want people to get a feeling from the individual candidates.” The forum will also provide a chance for the candidate representatives to explain issues, he said.

The county committee asked campaigns to send a representative to speak “in anticipation of the Feb. 10 Democratic caucus, to get an idea of what the campaign is trying to do in Maine, and what their message is to Maine.”

The public is invited. Candidate representatives will speak at 7 p.m. after a 6:30 business meeting. The forum will be at the Muskie Archives at 70 Campus Ave.

Democratic caucuses

All 14 cities and towns in Androscoggin County will caucus on Feb. 10, Maine’s Democratic caucus day, Fessenden said.

Lewiston’s caucus will start at 1 p.m. at Lewiston High School; voting begins at 2 p.m. The convener is Nancy Perry. Auburn’s caucus will be at the Auburn Middle School beginning at 11 a.m., voting at 3. The convener is Ed Desgrosseilliers.

Several towns will have speedier caucuses, only allowing 30 minutes of discussion before voting. Leeds, Mechanic Falls, Sabattus and Turner all begin their caucuses at 1 p.m. with voting at 1:30. Greene, Livermore Falls and Minot begin their caucuses at 2 p.m. with voting at 2:30.

For more information or to see the complete list of locations and caucus times go to www.androscoggincountydems.org.

Any Democrat who wants to vote absentee can get a ballot by calling the Maine Democratic Party headquarters at 207-622-6233.

– Bonnie Washuk