By Vanguard Staff
DAVIS, Calif. — Davis voters will have an opportunity next week to hear directly from the two candidates seeking to represent Trustee Area 3 on the Davis Joint Unified School District Board of Education, as the League of Women Voters of Yolo County hosts a candidate forum featuring incumbent Joe DiNunzio and challenger Kurt Wendlenner.
The forum will take place Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at 5:15 p.m., at Brunelle Hall at Davis Senior High School, 315 W. 14th St. in Davis.
The DJUSD forum will be followed at 7 p.m. by a nonpartisan voter education forum on California Proposition 39, the Prohibit Voting Without Government-Issued Identification Initiative.
The League of Women Voters of Yolo County describes the Proposition 39 event as an opportunity for voters to learn about existing voter registration and identification laws and constitutional provisions, as well as how Proposition 39 would change them if approved.
DJUSD Trustee Area 3 is generally bordered by Highway 113 to the west, Pole Line Road to the east, Covell Boulevard to the north and Russell Boulevard to the south.
DiNunzio currently represents Trustee Area 3 on the DJUSD Board of Education and is serving his second term. He has twice served as board president. DJUSD currently lists DiNunzio as the Area 3 trustee.
During his time on the board, DiNunzio has worked with fellow trustees, educators, district leaders, families and community members to expand full-day kindergarten and Career Technical Education, strengthen student supports, improve school facilities, develop a new district strategic plan and secure community support for Measures G and N.
Professionally, DiNunzio leads the Mike and Renée Child Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UC Davis and teaches at the Graduate School of Management. Earlier in his career, he helped build several startup companies and led new product development at Walt Disney Imagineering.
DiNunzio holds an A.B. in psychology from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Wendlenner, a parent of young children, is running on a platform that calls for greater transparency in district decision-making, using technology to support rather than replace teaching and addressing the wage gap between administrators and educators.
Wendlenner has emphasized listening to parents, students and educators as part of the School Board’s decision-making process.
He has also argued that Davis’ concentration of experts in numerous fields provides an opportunity for the district to incorporate expert analysis and data into its decision-making, with the goal of providing the community with better information and making district decisions more data-driven.
Candidate forum questions will be prepared by League representatives. Written questions submitted by attendees will be screened by a League team to ensure that the forum covers a range of topics and issues before being read by the moderator.
Voice questions or statements from the audience will not be permitted.
Campaign literature and paraphernalia, including signs, T-shirts, hats and buttons, will not be allowed inside the meeting rooms. Similar restrictions apply to the League’s other 2026 candidate and voter education forums.
Links to video recordings of both events will be available through Election Day on the League of Women Voters of Yolo County website.
The League of Women Voters of Yolo County describes itself as a nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering voters through education and civic engagement. The organization states that it does not support or oppose political parties or candidates.
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