Rob AriasThe Berkeley-Albany-Emeryville chapter of the League of Women Voters hosted a candidate forum for our city on Thursday evening at City Hall. Moderated by the LWV Chapter President Nancy Bickel, the four candidates including (L-R) John Bauters, Ken Bukowski, Scott Donahue & Dianne Martinez took turns answering league curated as well as a handful of audience submitted questions. The four candidates are vying for two open seats vacated by Jennifer West and Kurt Brinkman who both opted to not seek reelection. In response to criticisms of the archaic video library on the city website, Emeryville has begun posting their videos on their own official City of Emeryville YouTube Channel.
City Council Candidate Forum
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Topics in the forum included Affordable Housing, Disaster Preparedness, Minimum Wage, Transportation, The ECCL, and measures U & V with each candidate offering their take and solutions for some of Emeryville’s greatest challenges. Scott Donahue & Dianne Martinez, running as a slate, showed sincerity and even solidarity. Ken Bukowski, pulling from his vast history in Emeryville Politics, I thought held his own.
It was a bit of a coming out party for newcomer John Bauters from my observations. He was articulate, concise & confident. He did his homework and showed that despite being a novice to Emeryville politics, his life experiences with Katrina disaster relief and as a legal aid for seniors & the homeless have prepared him for this moment. He’ll need to make an impression on people quickly if he’s to overcome all the endorsements, financial backing and grass-roots support of the other candidates.
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The evening began with a School Board candidate forum where incumbents John Affeldt, Miguel Dwin & Christian Patz were joined by challenger Donn Merriam in a civil discourse. School Board members are elected for four year staggered terms that begin after election results are finalized by the Registrar of Voters and ratified by the Board.
School Board Candidate Forum
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Thank you for sharing this news with Emeryville Rob. I hope everyone registers to vote, researches the candidate information as well as the ballot measure information and they show up at the polls en mass this November 4th! We can show other cities and the State how it’s done!
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