This group is trying to bring you more candidate debates and forums

News outlets across the nation are reporting that candidate forums are on the decline. That makes it hard for voters to compare candidates' views on important issues in the community — especially in small races. But one group in Orange County is fighting against that trend.

Linda Lockwood's dining room table was covered in stacks of paper earlier this month. This is Lockwood's fourth election in charge of candidate forums for the League of Women Voters of North Orange County.

The group put on a whopping 10 of them this year.

"It's such a learning experience to find out how every city is different," Lockwood said, "and has its own little issues."

The group initially hoped to put on 16 candidate forums — one for each city council and school board in north O.C. But they rely on buy-in from local officials, which they don't always get.

Lockwood said she sometimes fields calls from residents and groups begging them to put on a forum, and she has to let them down. "You don't just have them. It takes weeks of planning and organization to put it all together." 

They need cities and school districts to provide the venue. And each forum requires about 10 volunteers — a moderator, timekeepers, and people to solicit questions from the audience and sort through them for the moderator. They also have someone who videotapes the forum and gets it online.

Lockwood said even when the turnout is small, it's worth it to get voters more information in local races.

"These are people who are running your life and they are so important," she added. "They're very powerful."

Fullerton College was the venue for a recent forum among candidates for the Fullerton School District Board of Trustees.

Several dozen people sat at long tables to hear four candidates answer questions about things like school bonds, special education, and a controversial new sports academy.

After the forum, Annie Kwok explained why she came.

"A lot of times these races, it's a lot about charisma, right?," Kwok said. "That doesn't always translate to like how they're actually going to, to govern, uh, so I'm trying to like look past that a little bit."

She also left the event feeling better prepared to fill out her ballot.

"At least I'm not blindly voting, right?" she said.

One of the candidates, James Cho, said he was super nervous going into the forum, but was grateful for it.

"I think the reason that we should have every race contested is to make sure that candidates get on the record... to not let certain narratives go unchallenged," Cho said. "So I'm just glad to have participated as part of the process. So win or lose, I'm just glad to help democracy thrive."

If you can't find a debate forum near you, not to worry. You can find lots of information about what's on your ballot in our Voter Game Plan. We don't do endorsements, but we do help you break down the issues so you can make a decision in alignment with your beliefs and values.

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