The First of Two San Diego City Council Candidate Forums
Thursday, Sept. 24
La Jolla Village Square Community Room
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September 2015 marked the one-year anniversary of San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action as an active, engaged club within the San Diego County Democratic Party, and we began to delve into the 2016 election season with our club's first candidate forum.

Our meeting on Thursday, September 24 at the La Jolla Village Square Community Room once again drew a record-breaking crowd, and marks the first of two San Diego City Council candidate forums hosted by the club, featuring Democratic candidates running in District Three and District Seven.
District Three
District Seven
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District Three candidates Anthony Bernal and Chris Ward. The forum was moderated by club second vice president Fred Rogers.
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District Seven candidates Jose Caballero and Justin DeCesare. The forum was moderated by club president Tommy Hough.
PictureDebbie Hecht
Early member check-in and registration got underway at 6:00 pm, with our club social starting as usual at 6:30. With a similar forum presentation and format scheduled for our Oct. 22 meeting with D-1 and D-9 candidates, we encourage club members to arrive early to check in.

San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action
September 24, 2015
6:30 pm
La Jolla Village Square Community Room (inside the mall)
8657 Villa La Jolla Dr.
San Diego, CA 92037

In addition to the forums, the club voted in new treasurer Brett Fisher, and passed a resolution lending club support to sponsor the Sierra Club One Percent Land and Water Fund resolution, which Sierra Club San Diego chapter president Debbie Hecht presented to the club in June.

The club's annual audit report will be presented at the October meeting.

A few rules for the candidate forums, which will also apply to our Oct. 22 club meeting and forums with D-1 and D-9 candidates:
  • Non-club members are welcome to attend the meeting, but will not be permitted to submit questions to the candidates.
  • Each candidate will be given a two-minute opening statement and closing statement.
  • No questions will be taken from the floor once the forums begin.
  • Questions will be asked by the moderator only.
  • The moderator reserves the right to ask any question of both candidates at any time, and may not necessarily use every submitted question.
  • To ensure fairness, no one attending may applaud or cheer specific candidate answers, but may applaud candidate statements and introductions.
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All club members in good standing, according the qualifications put forward in club bylaws, were given two index cards after signing in – one to submit a single question for the D-3 forum, and another to submit a single question for the D-7 forum. Those cards were collected and given to the moderators ahead of each forum session.

Our next meeting on Thursday, Oct. 22 will feature a similar process, with San Diego City Council candidates running in District One and District Nine.

Download an agenda for the club's Sept. 24, 2015 meeting here.

Download the minutes from the club's July 30, 2015 meeting here.