The League of Women Voters of Tulare County Visalia City Council Candidates Forum will be held October 10 at the Tulare County Office of Education 6200 S Mooney. Doors open at 6:00 and the forum starts at 6:30.
Of Visalia’s five districts, District 1 and District 2 are up for re-election. Efrain Becerra and incumbent Liz Wynn are running for District 1.
April Treona Lancaster and incumbent Brett Taylor are vying for District 2.
Becerra is listed as a caregiver on the Tulare County Registrar of Voters Candidates list and Lancaster is listed as an herbalist. Wynn is a hospital administrator and Taylor is a realtor.
The forum will be moderated by Melinda Morales, former Opinion Page Editor for the Visalia Times Delta and current Director of Outreach and Communication for CASA of Tulare County.
Each candidate will make a brief opening statement followed questions on a variety of current issues facing locals. Audience questions will be asked alongside prepared questions. As this is a forum and not a debate, participants are not allowed to refer to a rival candidate when answering the questions.
Ballots for the 2024 General Election will be mailed October 5, 2024 and Election Day is November 5. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. for those who want to vote in person or hand in their mail in ballot at a ballot drop off box or at their polling place. Mail-in ballots can also be submitted in 15 official drop-off boxes around the county during the month prior to Election Day. There will be four in Visalia: the Registrar’s Office on Akers St., the County Courthouse off Mooney Blvd., the Public Library downtown, and Government Plaza across from Mooney Grove Park.
The LWV is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political candidate. The League’s purpose is to inform voters of choices they have through forums that reflect a variety of perspectives and interests.
“Hearing and seeing candidates engage in healthy debates before an election is an important part of our democracy” according to a statement from the League of Women Voters of California. “Candidate debates and forums help us determine which candidates align with our values and which ones we want to support with our votes. Due to our deep roots and long history of nonpartisanship, communities across the country have put their trust in the League to host these events.”
The forum will be streaming live on The Valley Voice Facebook page.
This forum is presented by the League of Women Voters of Tulare County in collaboration with the American Association of University Women (AAUW), The Visalia Times-Delta, The Foothills Sun Gazette and The Valley Voice.