Candidates for Mayor and Council are preparing for a Q&A forum this Thursday, October 1 at 7pm. The event, hosted by volunteer community group Irvine Watchdog (www.irvinewatchdog.org), features a list of 22 questions crowdsourced over a two week submission period this month.
“The survey reinforced what many of us already know: Irvine residents like the safety, nice landscaping, good schools, ample green space, et cetera,” says Jeanne Baran, co-founder of Irvine Watchdog and an organizer of the forum. “But it also reveals they are less content with how development is managed in the city, a lack of transparency in City Hall, and how the City is addressing affordability, climate leadership, and diversity and inclusion.”
Irvine’s four mayoral candidates and 13 city council candidates will answer questions on these and other topics in an event broadcasted live on YouTube. A mix of “yes/no” and long-answer questions will be put to the group of 17 with the help of moderator Dr. Richard Matthew, UCI Professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy, as well as faculty director of UCI’s Blum Center for Poverty Alleviation.
“Irvine residents have lots of tough, earnest questions they want answered,” adds Michaela González Montaner, a volunteer with the organization and forum organizer. “We’re grateful for the residents’ participation in our process and excited to have so many candidates stepping up to engage with local voters in this format.”
Members of the public can register to attend the candidate forum at: https://irvinewatchdog.org/2020/09/01/irvine-candidate-forum-thursday-october-1-at-7pm/. A link to the event will be emailed at least 24 hours before the forum and a link to the recording will be emailed after the event once it is available.
For a full list of candidates running for mayor and council in Irvine, including links to their campaign websites and social media accounts, please visit: https://irvinewatchdog.org/irvine-city-voter-guide-2020/.