Irvine, California Sep 1, 2018 (Issuewire.com) - Irvine Watchdog (www.IrvineWatchDog.org), a non-partisan Irvine resident coalition that advocates for transparency, accountability, and honesty announces its first ever Irvine City Council Candidate Forum on September 30, 2018, at Irvine High School. Meet & greet candidates starting at 4:30 pm. The forum begins at 5:00 pm and is moderated by renowned Voice of OC founder and journalist Noberto Santana Jr. The Forum will provide Irvine voters an opportunity to meet, question, and hear from candidates on the November ballot for Irvine City Council.
Two City Council seats are open with 12 candidates on the slate. Candidates who have committed to participate in the Irvine WatchDog Forum thus far are the following:
• Kev Abazajian
• Gang Chen
• Lauren Johnson-Norris
• Farrah Khan
• Liqing Lee
• Frank McGill
• Carrie O’Malley
• John Park
• Jaci Woods
Candidates have until September 10, 2018 to RSVP to organizers for a spot at the forum. City Council Candidates, as well as Mayoral and Congressional Candidates are also invited to host campaign tables at 4:30 pm, prior to the start of the Forum.
“Irvine is one of the largest and most economically robust cities in Orange County. This race is extremely important to not just Irvine residents but could impact overall dynamics in the County. In moderating for this Forum, I want to ensure fair and unbiased representation for Irvine residents and the community at large,” said Noberto Santana Jr., moderator for the event.
Residents must register to attend and/or submit candidate questions at www.IrvineWatchDog.org. Questions should be focused on issues in the City. Derogatory or questions aimed at attacking any one candidate will be omitted. Questions with similar topics may be combined by organizers, but residents are encouraged to be as specific as possible. The moderator will randomly select a candidate’s name and a question to be answered. Each candidate has the opportunity to answer three questions.
“Our group spent a lot of time designing the question and answer process for this forum. Our goal is for candidates to answer important questions from our residents, as well as give them an equal opportunity to voice their answers. Our forum will give residents the opportunity to see these folks “live,” interact with them, and engage in forming an educated, informed decision at the ballot box.” says Karen Jaffe, volunteer and one of the original founders of Irvine WatchDog.
Candidate statements are available at www.IrvineWatchDog.org and video will be posted at the conclusion of the Forum for residents to view. Residents will be encouraged to post comments and questions to further dialog with candidates who choose to reply.
About Irvine WatchDog
Formed by group Irvine residents in May of 2018, who volunteer their time to follow Irvine City leadership, city processes, and over-development. Irvine WatchDog volunteers advocate for transparency, accountability, and honesty at all levels of City Government. Residents are welcome to submit blog posts according to guidelines https://irvinewatchdog.org/article-guidelines/
About the Voice of OC
Voice of OC is Orange County’s non-profit, non-partisan newsroom. Focused on daily coverage of the things that matter most such as transportation, the environment, health, public safety, housing and homelessness. Voice of OC believes in journalism that is fair, focused and thorough in order to give the public real-time information that allows them to monitor and interact with their local government. They are a catalyst in the community by bringing attention to important stories to encourage robust wide-ranging dialogue on local policy, societal and political issues. www.VoiceofOC.org
Media Contact
Irvine Watchdog info@IrvineWatchDog.org (949) 354-3192 http://IrvineWatchDog.org
