It’s time to meet the candidates.
With the primary elections scheduled for June 2, candidates will field questions from the public at a series of candidate forums at San Joaquin Delta College’s Mabalon Forum.
The first forums are today, and the finals events will take place on Thursday. The forums were organized by the San Joaquin County Civic Alliance, a group of community organizations dedicated to civic engagement and voter education across San Joaquin County.
“Elections are very important and understanding the issues and hearing where the candidates stand on those issues is critical in making informed choices,” said Betty Wilson, executive director of the Business Council of San Joaquin County. “We believe candidate forums will help educate and inform the voters.”
Candidates from each city, county and state race in San Joaquin County were invited to participate, but some of the forums did not draw the required two candidates to hold the discussions. Forums for San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors District 2 and California State Assembly District 13 will not be held before the primary elections.
Here’s a list of the upcoming forums:
Saturday, April 18
10:10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.: Stockton City Council District 5 candidates Desiree Lynch, Mary Elizabeth, Max Beas and Ruben Harper.
11:25 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: California State Assembly District 9 candidates Brandon Owen, Matthew Adams and Tami Nobriga.
12:40 p.m.-1:40 p.m.: San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors District contenders Steve Ding and Travis Castle.
Thursday, April 23
6 p.m.-7:15 p.m.: Stockton City Council District 1 candidates Annette Sanchez, Lam Nguyen, Shelly B. Hollis and Tamica Small.
7:25 p.m.-8:20 p.m.: Stockton City Council District 3 candidates Michael Blower and Stefanie Alfaro.
The forums and campus parking are free for the forums are free to attend, and campus parking fees have been waived. No RSVP or registration is required.
Panelists from local educational institutions and media groups will moderate.
Organizations involved in the process include whose members helped draft questions and who will help host the forums include Delta College’s political science department, the Business Council of San Joaquin County, California State University, Stanislaus’ Stockton campus, the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce, the African American Chamber of Commerce, the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Central Valley Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Stockton branch of the NAACP, The Record, the League of Women Voters of San Joaquin County and Stocktonia.