I announced our Alameda Post Candidate Forum for Mayor and City Council last month [1] as part of our effort to help Alameda voters become more informed about the upcoming November 8 election. I am happy to report that all the candidates for Mayor and City Council have confirmed their attendance at our Saturday, October 15 events to be held at the Mastick Senior Center [2].
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When I announced the forums, I also asked our readers to submit their ideas [4] for candidate forum questions we should ask. More than a dozen readers sent their suggestions, covering a variety of topics. After review, we grouped the submitted questions into these categories:
Diversity and community
- How will you maintain and increase socio-economic diversity in Alameda?
- What more can and should be done to address the harms done through the excavation of and development over indigenous shell mounds in Alameda?
- How will you assist Alameda to continue as a safe environment for children and adult inhabitants?
- With Oakland and San Francisco as our neighbors, will Alameda forever keep its charm intact in a flourishing community?
Voting
- Proportional ranked choice voting achieves fair representation, a majority mandate, and avoids the contention of drawing districts and gerrymandering. Are you in favor of the city council putting this voting method on the ballot so that citizens do not have to collect signatures and the voters can decide whether to use the voting method in Alameda?
Housing and development
- Do you support the current draft of Alameda’s Housing Element, and will you work to ensure its certification by the state? If not, why.
- (Editor’s note: This question was based on a premise that was not factual, so it has been removed. Updated 9/20, 12:10 p.m.)
- What is your position regarding the need for more affordable housing in Alameda?
- What are some of your ideas about current and near future development?
- Did you support or oppose the construction of the Wellness Center on McKay Avenue? What are your reasons for this choice?
Transit and traffic
- Do you support bus lanes, a bike/pedestrian bridge to Jack London Square, and other transportation improvements?
- When a second Transbay Tube is built, where should BART stations be located in Alameda?
- What can the city do to keep pedestrians and cyclists safe on the streets?
- What are your concrete plans for managing traffic on/off island with all the new housing? To get a sense of the issues, drive anywhere near Webster on Antique Fair weekends.
- Since more housing in Alameda is inevitable, and not many people will be biking to work, have you given any thought to expanded and very affordable mass transit options to local BART and ferry terminals?
Other
- Is there any misconception about you that you would like to clear up?
How to help us choose candidate forum questions
We have created a form where you can select your top three choices for candidate forum questions and rank them from first to third. The questions are listed in random order, and we accepted responses until 11:59 p.m., Sunday October 9. Please visit our online form and make your selections. One entry per person, please. You will be asked to enter your email address to confirm your identity.
After we receive all of your votes, we will assign a score for each choice: first choice = 3 points, second choice = 2 points, and third choice = 1 point. Once our tally is complete, the totals will determine which three questions we will ask of the candidates at our event.
- Do you support the current draft of Alameda’s Housing Element, and will you work to ensure its certification by the state? If not, why?
- What are your concrete plans for managing traffic on/off island with all the new housing?
- How will you assist Alameda to continue as a safe environment for children and adult inhabitants?
We hope you will join us on Saturday, October 15 [5] for the Alameda Post Candidate Forum to hear from all three of the candidates for Mayor and all five candidates for City Council in person.
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post [6]. Reach him at [email protected] [7]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt [8].
Editorials and Letters to the Editor
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