Candidates forDavis City Council will answer questions and meet with the public at a forumonWednesday.The forum is hosted by the Davis Neighborhood Coalition and the Sierra Club‘s Yolano Group.Davis Bicycles! is co-sponsoring.
“We‘re going to be asking them questions about growth issues on our periphery,sprawl on agricultural land versus more growth within the city,parking issues downtown,“ said Pamela Nieberg,chair of the Yolano Group.“We‘ll also look at whether or not they support the democratic process,like Measure J.“
Another goal of the forum is to determine how“green“ the candidates actually are,she said.
“They‘re all coming out [as green],but you have to try to pin them down on particular issues and get into more detail,“ she said.
Wednesday‘s forum will feature all six candidates.This includes incumbents Sue Greenwald,Don Saylor and Stephen Souza,and challengers Cecilia Escamilla-Greenwald,Rob Roy and Sydney Vergis.Royand Vergis are UC Davis alumni.
The candidates have been given10questions in advance and they will also answer questions from the audience,said Holly Bishop,president of the Davis Neighborhood Coalition.
“The format is designed to provide educational experience for the public regarding the views of the City Council candidates,“ Bishopsaid.
This is the third time the coalition has hosted a candidates forum.
“The last one we did was a full house,“ she said.“This forum has been timed so that the voters can make an informed decision before the election.“
The forum will be alsobebroadcast live on the city government channel,Comcast channel16.
“Davis has a strong history of participation and a lot of people like going to the forums and getting the candidates to say things on record,“ Roy said.“It‘s like a presidential debate but you get to write the questions yourself.“
The previousthreeforums were hosted by the Davis Chamber of Commerce,Davis College Democrats and the Davis Democratic Club,respectively.
“Each forum has its own particular bias because the organization putting it on has different concerns,“ Roy said.“The Sierra Club is going to be skewed different than the [Davis] Downtown Business Association.“
Nevertheless,the forums are important to get the candidates to speak on the record,he said.
The Davis Neighborhood Coalition includes15differentDavis neighborhood associations,such as the Old North Davis Neighborhood Association,the Slide Hill Park Neighborhood Association and the Mace Ranch Neighborhood Association.The Yolano Group includes Sierra Club members from Yolo,Solano,Lake and Colusa counties.
ElectionDayis June3.Last day to register to vote is May19.
JEREMY OGUL can be reached at city@californiaaggie.com.XXX
[Sidebar]:
CityCouncilcandidate forum
Wednesday,Apr.30
7p.m.
Community Chambers,23Russell Blvd.
Live broadcast on Comcast channel16
