Politics & Government

What Should We Ask City Council Candidates?

San Ramon Patch wants the citizens of San Ramon to define the issues for the candidates in the upcoming city and school board elections.

San Ramon voters will go to the polls Nov. 8 to elect two City Council members and mayor. Historically, election coverage has been about what's said, who's saying it and who's ahead in the polling.

San Ramon Patch wants to take a different approach to election coverage this year by getting voters involved early, so that they define the issues for the candidates instead of the other way around.

We want voters to tell us through email and comments what they want the candidates to talk about. If the voters define the issues, they can see how well the candidates respond and make decisions based on who best addresses their concerns.

Find out what's happening in San Ramonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Why is this important?

As long as political campaigns have been in existence, candidates have been telling us what is wrong and how they are going to fix it. This citizens initiative changes that dynamic by defining for the candidates what needs fixing and asking them to consider how they would accomplish those changes.

Find out what's happening in San Ramonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After we build our list of issues, San Ramon Patch will send out questionnaires to City Council candidates asking their approach to dealing with the issues the citizens have identified.

Please don’t hesitate to make your views known. 

You can write your thoughts in the comment section at the end of this article or you can send your comments directly to San Ramon Patch Editor Jennifer Wadsworth at jenniferw@patch.com.

Important Dates: The filing period for candidates running for and City Council ends 5 p.m. Aug. 12. Nomination packets for City Council are available at City Hall, 2222 Camino Ramon.

For more information call City Clerk Pat Edwards at 925-973-2539.


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