Interested in who the Democratic party has to challenge U.S. Rep. Phil English, Erie, for his 3rd Congressional District seat in the fall? The first nearby debate is next week.

At 2 p.m. Feb. 9 in Slippery Rock University’s Advanced Technology and Science hall’s auditorium, four Erie-based candidates will have a chance to show district voters what they’re all about.

Erie County Councilman Kyle Foust, lawyer Tom Myers, lay-minister Mike Waltner and businesswoman and arboretum director Kathy Dahlkemper will be answering to Greenville’s Mayor Dick Miller, debate moderator.

Miller said he was offered the chance to hold the candidates’ feet to the fire because he’s undecided on who he likes so far. “I think all four of them are good candidates, I really do,” he said.

The format will be a little different than most debates. Miller said candidates will get five questions in advance and probably answer four of them.

A list of questions provided to the Herald by Dr. Itzi Meztli, English professor and debate organizer, included what candidates would do about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, health care, Social Security, trade and a hypothetical question about whether they would have supported the economic stimulus package before Congress now.

“Let’s face it, if you really want them to address an issue you don’t want to surprise them,” Miller said.

He said the goal of the debate was to inform the audience. “So it’s not just a beauty contest for the candidates. It’s going to be my job to hold them to the subjects.”

The two-hour debate will be followed by an hour-long reception in the lobby outside the auditorium. Meztli said the reception will enable voters to meet the candidates and ask questions that weren’t answered during the debate.

Petitions will also be circulated for Butler County Democrats to sign, said Meztli. He wasn’t sure Thursday whether there would be petitions for registered Democrats in Mercer County, or if those would be permitted over the border in Butler County.

Parking will be free and the debate is open to the public, Meztli said.

To get to the auditorium, turn left into the university’s main entrance on Keister Road. The technology and science building is in front of the loop that the entrance merges into, Meztli said. Turn right onto the loop, park in one of the lots, and enter through the back of the building, he said.

The debate is being sponsored by the Butler County Democrats for Change and the Northwest Democratic Alliance, Meztli said.