With the 2016 Florida Primary Election happening Tuesday, Aug. 30, we wanted to offer you a chance to get to know legislative candidates through the effort of the 2016 Jacksonville Kids Coalition Candidate Meetings, held Aug. 1 and 2 at the Jessie Ball duPont Center. The meetings, hosted by the Jacksonville Kids Coalition (JKC), were a facilitated dialogue between members of the coalition and each candidate running for office.

The JKC is comprised of more than 75 area nonprofits and organizations committed to advocating for children’s issues in the local community and statewide. The JKC currently serves more than 200,000 children and will prove to be an important resource for local candidates elected.

United Way of Northeast Florida Public Policy Director Jason Roth chaired the JKC candidate meetings designed to learn about each candidate’s stance on pertinent children’s issues as well as educate candidates on children’s policy. Areas of children’s policy discussed included early learning, K-12 education, juvenile justice, and mental health.

These meetings offered candidates a moment to elaborate on what differentiates them from their fellow candidates and share their core values. With participation by almost every major candidate, including those running for state attorney and public defender, many candidates expressed their appreciation for JKC for getting to know them and offering the JKC as a resource on issues affecting children in our region.

Check out tweets during the event using the #JaxKids2016 hashtag at Storify here.

You can also view the interviews through the JKC YouTube Channel. Click on the time-stamp in the description to find any particular interview.

The JKC did not include school board candidates during these meetings because of the #SchoolBoard2016 election effort organized by the Jacksonville Public Education Fund and their partners. If you are interested in learning more about school board candidates, visit schoolboard2016.org.

Voting has never been easier as all Floridians registered to vote can do so between now and Sunday, Aug. 28. If you live in Duval county, you can early vote at any of the Supervisor of Elections locations listed here. For early vote locations in adjoining counties, visit the election supervisor sites for Nassau, Clay and St. Johns counties.