If you live in Culver City, the ONLY thing on your March 8 ballot is four contests for seats on the LACCD Board of Trustees, all elected at large throughout the massive L.A. Community College District, and your Sample Ballot has no info on the 16 candidates besides their NAMES.
Are you wondering why there are no candidate statements in your Sample Ballot? Well, the City of L.A. administers the LACCD election, along with LAUSD and L.A. City Council elections on the same date, and the L.A. City Election Code does not allow for printed candidate statements. Instead, each candidate is offered five minutes at L.A. Channel 35 to record a video. Unfortunately, less than half of the candidates have taken advantage of this offer, and of these, only seven (7) are candidates for LACCD Board of Trustees.
So far, 12 of the 16 LACCD candidates have posted their campaign info at SmartVoter.org, the League of Women Voters’ award-winning voter service website. All five candidates for Seat 1 may be viewed at http://smartvoter.org/2011/03/08/ca/la/race/71/ and both of the two candidates for Seat 3 may be viewed at http://smartvoter.org/2011/03/08/ca/la/race/72/ (complete with videos for both candidates). We’re hoping the four hold-outs will post their info soon.
Taking a cue from San Francisco LWV members who hold SmartVoter Parties to prepare for local and state elections, the Culver City Unit will devote its February 15 meeting to group viewing and discussion of the material posted on SmartVoter by candidates for LACCD Board of Trustees. Remember “debate parties” before the 2010 Presidential Election? This will be like that, except that there’s no negative campaigning allowed on SmartVoter.org
Members of the general public are cordially invited to attend the Culver City Unit meeting:
date – Tuesday, February 15
time – 11:30a.m. (brown-bag lunch & sociability); 12:00 program; 1:30 adjournment
place – Culver City Julian Dixon Library Community Room, 3975 Overland Ave., Culver City
parking – overflow from CCPL lot to CC Adult School lot immediately north of the Library
bring – sample ballot (you’ll want to mark it up)
Of course anyone can host a SmartVoter Party (please do!), but if you come to the League’s party, you’ll have the benefit of an especially well-informed and experienced group of discussants.
Hope to see you next Tuesday. Politics and lunch – what could be better than that?
OOPS! I forgot to mention that the League of Women Voters does not support or oppose candidates for any office. So you won’t be TOLD how to vote. And these are nonpartisan offices, tho many candidates have wangled endorsements from political parties.
— Frances
Hi!, I’m new on here and excited to be a part of the conversation !