Forums will focus on charter, candidates

Organizers of a handful of upcoming forums and informational sessions hope the events will help to educate voters about many of the issues and candidates that will be part of the Nov. 4 general election. Voters in Camas and Washougal will be casting their ballots on topics including the Clark County Home Rule Charter, as well as for candidates running for Clark County Sheriff, Clark County Commissioner District 3, 18th Legislative District Representative Positions 1 and 2, and U.S. Rep. Third District. Upcoming events will include: Clark County Home Rule Charter information session A Clark County Home Rule Charter information session will be held Thursday, Oct. 2, at 6:30 p.m., at the Washougal Community Library, 1661 "C" St. The event is one of a series being held at Fort Vancouver Regional Library locations that focus on the charter, which if approved would change the structure of Clark County government. According to FVRL Program Services Coordinator Amy Scott, all 15 members of the elected Freeholders group, who helped to write the proposed charter, have been invited to attend, in addition to members of the Clark County Republican Party. The organization in August issued a resolution opposing the charter. Nan Henriksen said she and Paul Dennis, both former Camas mayors, supporters of the proposed charter and members of the Board of Freeholders, are planning to attend the Washougal Community Library session. According to Scott, the event aims to educate voters on the issue. "The structure of the session is informational," she said. For more information, visit www.fvrl.org. League of Women Voters forum The League of Women Voters of Clark County will host a series of candidate forums in October. Held from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Vancouver Community Library, 901 "C" St., forum dates and topics are: Tuesday, Oct. 7 (Home Rule Charter and candidates for Clark County sheriff, prosecuting attorney and superior court judge; Wednesday, Oct. 8 (candidates for Clark County commissioner, assessor, clerk and treasurer as well as Clark Public Utilities commissioner; and Thursday, Oct. 9 (candidates for State Legislative districts 17, 18 and 49). Candidates for each office will answer questions from a moderator from the LWV, a nonpartisan organization with the mission of promoting voter participation and education. Written questions from the audience may be added, if time permits. According to Judy Hudson of the LWVCC, the forum will be videotaped by Vancouver's CVTV, and replayed on channels 21 and 23. For more information, contact Hudson at 253-7712 or judy-hudson@comcast.net, or Susan Fleming at 210-4322 or susanfleming0@gmail.com. Camas Youth Advisory Council forum A candidate forum, sponsored by the Camas Youth Advisory Council, will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 13, in the Camas High School auditorium, 26900 S.E. 15th St. Candidates for local and state offices have been invited to attend. The candidates will field questions from high school students during the event. The Camas Youth Advisory Council serves as the liaison between the city and the student body of Camas. Clark County Disability Coalition legislative candidates forum The Clark County Disability Coalition is organizing a legislative candidates forum at Clark College Columbia Tech Center on Wednesday, Oct. 15, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This free community event will provide an opportunity for self-advocates, family members and individuals supporting the disability community to meet legislative candidates, discuss relevant issues, and make informed voting decisions that will affect individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the future. Networking will take place from 6 to 6:30 p.m., then until 8:30 p.m., local candidates will share their positions on disability-related issues. Topics addressed include: Accessibility, diversity, education, employment, health and safety, housing, medical and mental health services and transportation. American Sign Language and Spanish translation will be provided. Clark College Columbia Tech Center is located at 18700 S.E. Mill Plain Boulevard, Vancouver. Ballots for the all-mail election will be sent out the week of Oct. 13. For more information, visit www.clark.wa.gov/elections.

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