Local Candidate Forums Planned

The League of Women Voters® of Alameda (LWVA) will present three candidate forums at Mastick Senior Center on October 8, 9, and 16—all from 7:00 to 9:00 pm—leading up to the November 4 general election.

The three candidate forums will be held in the Mastick Senior Center Social Hall on Wednesday, October 8; Thursday, October 9; and Thursday, October 16. They are the second, third, and fourth events in a series of four nonpartisan public election forums the LWVA is offering during October. (A Pros and Cons forum on state and local ballot measures will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on Thursday, October 2, at Mastick Senior Center.) All are welcome at these free and nonpartisan LWVA public events. The Mastick Senior Center, at 1155 Santa Clara Avenue, is an accessible facility. Ample free parking is available in the parking lot, which can be entered from Santa Clara Avenue between Bay Street and St. Charles Street.

On Wednesday, October 8, the candidates for Assembly District 18 (Democratic Assemblymember Rob Bonta and Republican challenger David Erlich) and the four candidates running for three four-year terms on the City of Alameda Health Care District Board (Lynn Mark Bratchett, Robert Deutsch, Jim Meyers, and Tracy Jensen) will discuss their positions and respond to questions. (Board member Kathryn Saenz Duke, who was appointed to replace Jordan Battani in July, will also appear October 8. Her name will not appear on the ballot because was the only candidate to file for the two-year remainder of Battani’s four-year term, so she can automatically serve out the remainder of Battani’s term.)

Alameda’s candidates for Mayor and City Council (AUSD Trustee Trish Spencer and incumbent Mayor Marie Gilmore for mayor; Frank Matarrese, Jim Oddie, and incumbent Stewart Chen for City Council) will appear at Mastick Senior Center on Thursday evening, October 9, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm.

The two candidates for Alameda County Superintendent of Schools (Helen K. Foster and Karen Monroe) and the three candidates for two positions in the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education (Solana Henneberry, Gary Lym, and incumbent Trustee Michael McMahon) will offer their views and respond to voters’ questions from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at the final LWVA forum on Thursday, October 16.

Additional information on the state and local candidates and ballot measures is available in the state’s Official Voter Information Guide, from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters, and on the nonpartisan Smart Voter® website that is sponsored by the League of Women Voters® of California (LWVC).

The last day to register or re-register to vote in the November 4 election is Monday, October 20. The last day that a request for a vote-by-mail ballot can arrive at the Registrar of Voters’ office is Tuesday, October 28. Absentee ballots may be cast beginning on October 6. Additional voting and election information is available from the Smart Voter® website, the California Secretary of State, and the Alameda County Registrar of Voters.

The four general election forums are part of the LWVA’s year-round free and public Voter Services events and activities. The League of Women Voters, a 501(c) (3) nonpartisan and nonprofit public policy educational organization, offers voter service and citizen education activities to increase citizen participation in our democracy, study community issues, and support positive public policy solutions. The League of Women Voters never supports or opposes any political party or candidate. Membership in the League of Women Voters is open to all women and men.

For additional information on the LWVA’s four election forums, please call 510-869-4969, email VoterService@LWVAlameda.org, or visit http://LWVAlameda.org/elections.html and http://LWVAlameda.org/Public_Events.html.

--Information from the League of Women Voters