Big Week In Manhattan Beach City Council, School Board Elections

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The first of several Manhattan Beach City Council candidate forums takes place tomorrow [Wednesday, Sept. 30] from 6:30-8 p.m. on Zoom. Hosted by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce, all seven candidates vying for three open council seats are scheduled to attend and will be asked the same questions.

Then, on Thursday, Oct. 1, the four candidates vying for two open seats on the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees are scheduled to participate in a Zoom Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities beginning at 7 p.m.

Both events are free to the public and will be held online via Zoom. Once registered to attend each Zoom, you will be emailed a link to the candidate event. Questions for MBUSD school board candidates are due tomorrow [Wednesday, Sept. 30] via email to gerbar92@msn.com for consideration. To register to attend the Meet The Candidates Zoom Forum email dmbarkwall@gmail.com and enter "MBUSD" in the subject line. You will later receive an invitation and link for the Zoom Forum event. Questions for City Council candidates can be submitted when you register for the Forum.

Some 289 people have registered thus far for the City Council Candidate Forum and Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO/President Kelly Stroman expects that number to increase. "We are very pleased that the community response is robust and very engaged," she told Manhattan Beach Patch. "Registered attendees have the ability to share comments and questions before the event, on their individual registration page. We have received over 70 questions submitted thus far! We encourage everyone to register in advance and share your questions and thoughts with us.

"There will be no live zoom Q&A function during the forum," she noted. "We will be focused on asking direct questions of each candidate, listening to their response, and asking follow-up questions as deemed necessary. The candidates will not receive the forum questions in advance. We want organic responses from each candidate. Each candidate has been asked to prepare a one-minute opening statement and a one-minute closing remark. That will leave, approximately, 60 minutes for Q&A," explained Stroman.

"The Chamber is a recognized leader in the community. The mission of the Chamber of Commerce is to always encourage a strong local economy and quality of life by promoting local business, economic development, sound government, and an informed membership and community.

"It is important for everyone to exercise their right to vote, but it's more important to vote intelligently and strategically. Vote from a place of knowledge about the candidates and local issues. We encourage every voter to research each candidate and to use credible sources to do so," she said.

The League of Women Voters of the Beach Cities is also reporting higher-than-usual turnout for its school board candidate Forum, with about 150 people registered as of time of publication. Forum organizer Diane Wallace said an event like this would usually be attend by about 30 people.

City Council candidates are

• Phoebe Lyons
• Grettel Fournell
• Joe Franklin
• Chaz Flemmings
• Mark Burton
• Richard Montgomery
• Steve Napolitano

MBUSD Board of Trustees candidates are

• Justin Boxer
• Cathey Graves
• Mike Brunick
• Heather de Roos