The three candidates for the District 53 seat in the State House will face off in a public debate at 7 p.m. June 3 on the campus of Northeastern Technical College.

Kim Burch, James Sweeney and Ted Vick, candidates for the state House of Representatives, have agreed to enter the debate, which will include two 45-minute sessions of questions about their stance on local issues.

Jim Frank Henderson will serve as moderator for the first session of prepared questions that candidates have had time to review in advance. Henderson is the executive vice president of the Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce. He is a native of Chesterfield and has worked with the N.C. chamber for the past 19 years.

The second session will include questions from audience members. Audience members will be asked to submit questions in writing, and the Job Awareness Committee will screen the questions before presenting them to the candidates.

After the two 45-minute sessions, the candidates will be available for the public to meet in person.

Admission to the debate is free.

The debate is being sponsored by the Job Awareness Committee of the Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce. It is meant to be a forum for the citizens of Chesterfield County to meet the candidates and learn their stances on many of the issues facing the county.

The Job Awareness Committee is a sub-committee of the Economic Development Division of the Greater Cheraw Chamber of Commerce. The committee was formed earlier this year in an effort to raise awareness of continued job losses in Cheraw and Chesterfield County. This committee is funded through private donations from eight local companies and individuals.