Merced Sun-Star
Candidates vying to fill two open seats on the Merced County Board of Supervisors will meet tonight for a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters Merced County.
Six candidates have confirmed they'll attend the debate, scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Merced Civic Center. One candidate plans to send a representative.
Two Board of Supervisors seats are up for grabs on June 3, those representing Districts 2 and 4. Tonight's debate is the first and only one scheduled between the two candidates running in District 4, incumbent Deidre Kelsey and challenger Claudine Sherron.
In District 2, five candidates are running. All except John Price have said they'll attend tonight. This will mark the second debate among District 2 candidates. The first was held last month by the Merced Associated Democrats.
"We plan to keep the evening very issue-focused," said Lee Andersen, a longtime league member who will moderate the debate. "We're going to stay away from questions that are distracting and unnecessarily controversial. The goal is to touch on all the issues that really matter locally."
Organizers expect the debate to last about two hours. It will include short opening and closing statements from each candidate, followed by audience-submitted questions. Candidates for both districts will participate on one panel.
Andersen said past candidate debates hosted by the league have drawn between 40 and 100 people. A bigger audience could turn out tonight because the debate won't be televised as it's been in the past, Andersen said.
Price will miss the debate because he is speaking at a conference in Puerto Rico on farmworker health hosted by the National Association of Community Health Centers.
The four other candidates running for the District 2 seat are John Alexander, executive director of the Merced County Health Care Consortium; Jim Sanders, a Merced city councilman; Casey Steed, an electrical contractor; and Hub Walsh, director of Madera County's Social Services Department.
The Business and Professional Women of Merced is co-sponsoring tonight's debate. It begins at 7 p.m. in the City Council chambers at the Merced Civic Center, 678 W. 18th St.
The Board of Supervisors District 1 seat will also be on the June 3 ballot. Incumbent John Pedrozo is running unopposed for that slot. He wasn't asked to participate tonight.
Reporter Corinne Reilly can be reached at (209) 385-2477 or creilly@mercedsun-star.com.
Supervisor candidates debate
Candidates running for Merced County's District 2 and District 4 Board of Supervisors seats will debate today.
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Merced Civic Center, City Council Chambers, 678 W. 18th St.
WHO: Six candidates will attend. One will send a representative. The debate is open to the public.
