Special to the Vanguard
The League of Women Voters, Davis Area and Davis Media Access will co-host a candidate forum for the Davis City Council elections on Thursday, September 29th, 7:00 pm – 9pm, with the doors opening at 6:30pm. This nonpartisan election forum will be held at Community Chambers, 23 Russell Blvd., Davis.
The forum will feature candidates: Dan Carson, Kelsey Fortune and Bapu Vaitla from District 1, and candidates Adam Morrill and Gloria Partida from District 4. Election Day is Tuesday, November 8th. The event will be moderated by LWV Board Member Michelle Famula, MD.
The public is encouraged to attend although seating is limited and free tickets must be obtained ahead of time on Eventbrite at: lwvdaviscitycouncilforum.eventbrite.com
Questions will be prepared by League representatives and written questions will be accepted from the audience, but no spoken questions or statements will be allowed from the audience.
Community members may submit questions for candidates in advance at: info@lwvdavisarea.org by TUESDAY 9/27. Please submit only one question. All questions will be directed to all the candidates.
Davis Media Access will live stream the event as well as record the event which will be available to voters on LWV website – lwvdavisarea.org
Partida and Carson were elected in 2018 to the Davis City Council in what would be the last at-large election in which city residents could cast votes for any council candidates. This time around, they will be running in district elections, along with: Adam Morrill who works for the city’s Department of Pubic Works handling environmental compliance for solid waste and water waste; Bapu Vaitla, a data science fellow at Data2X/United Nations Foundation and currently a member of the city’s Social Services Commission; and Kelsey Fortune, associate executive director for Purple Tree Cafe, and Ph.D. Candidate in Economics, UCD.
Back in 2020, voters in Districts 2, 3 and 5 elected their representatives in the first by-district council elections. Now it’s the turn of voters in District 1 and District 4.
Davis resident Michelle Famula, MD will moderate the forum. Michelle has been a resident of the Davis area for 40 years. After a 35-year career as a physician with UC Davis, she retired from the University of California where she had served as Director of the Student Health Services (1997-2016) and Executive Director of Health and Wellness Services for the Division of Student Affairs from 2010-2016. Dr. Famula currently holds an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor, VCF Series, in the School of Medicine Department of Public Sciences. She serves as a Member-At-Large on the Yolo County Health Council and is proud to Chair the LWVDA Healthcare Committee and serve on the Voter Registration Committee.
The first Davis League Chapter was formed in 1957 and after 58 years of providing non-partisan voter services, it was dissolved in 2015. In April 2019, a small group of Davis residents decided to revive and renew the Davis League of Women Voters over a cup of coffee. With guidance from the State League and advice from former Davis chapter members, The League of Women Voters Davis Area MAS/MAL unit was established in August 2019. LWDVA is committed to voter education and voter registration while staying non-partisan. Visit the website at www.lwvdavisarea.org.
Davis Media Access (DMA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. DMA is a community media center serving Davis, CA and surrounding areas. Their mission is to enrich and strengthen the community by providing alternatives to commercial media for local voices, opinions and creative endeavors. Their major projects are KDRT 95.7 FM, Davis Community Television and DJUSD Channel 17. Visit the website at www.davismedia.org
