WESTPORT — The Westport Journal will sponsor a debate Oct. 17 between the two candidates seeking election in the 136th state House of Representatives District this November.

Jonathan Steinberg, the incumbent Democrat, and John Bolton, Republican, have agreed to face off at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, in the Janet Hartwell Performing Arts Center at Greens Farms Academy, 35 Beachside Ave.

The debate, scheduled just over two weeks before the Nov. 5 election, is open to the public. The event is free of charge, but registration is required. Voters are encouraged to email questions for the candidates to publisher@westportjournal.com. 

The 136th District encompasses most of Westport, with a southwestern slice of town within the 143rd House District.

The debate moderators will be Danielle Dobin, a Democratic member of the Board of Finance, and Dorie Hordon, a Republican member of the Board of Education.

“Westport Journal is excited to take an active role in helping voters understand how the candidates differ on representing Westport in Hartford,” said Doug Weber, Westport Journal’s publisher. “From the state’s healthcare policy to educational standards to gun safety and affordable housing, there are a lot of issues that get decided in the statehouse that can have a profound effect on life here in Westport.”

Steinberg, seeking election to an eighth term in the General Assembly, is the House of Representatives chairman of the Energy and Technology Committee and a member of the Public Health and the Transportation committees. Prior to that, he served on the Representative Town Meeting.

Bolton, a lawyer, has been a Planning and Zoning Commission member for three years.