Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Redwood ACLU to Hold 1st District Supervisor Candidate Debate

The Redwood Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is holding a Candidates' Debate on Civil Liberties for the candidates for Humboldt County Supervisor (1st District) on Friday, May 25th from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on live television -- Access Humboldt Channel 11 -- out of the Community Media Center studio at Eureka High School.


This debate will be held before a televised audience and in cooperation with independent producers working with Access Humboldt it will also be aired several times on public access Channels 11 & 12 and will likewise be available for later viewing on-line.


The debate will be moderated by Redwood ACLU Boardmember Christina Allbright, and shall be staffed by other members of the Board of Directors of the Redwood ACLU, although any persons who have made any sort of campaign contribution or endorsement of any of the candidates in this year's election are excluded from involvement.


"The debate allows the voters to get a handle on what the candidates have to say in this important election," Redwood ACLU Chair Greg Allen said.


The candidates have already expressed their willingness to participate in this debate, and all three (Rex Bohn, Annette De Modena and Cheryl Seidner) are expected to attend.


The Redwood ACLU held the only televised debate for all candidates for the Northern Humboldt High School District in 2005 at the Senior Room of the Arcata Community Center, and has also presented civil liberties-oriented forums for local city council races over the last seven years. In 2010, the Redwood ACLU hosted two televised debates, in both the primary and general elections, for all of the candidates running for District Attorney of Humboldt County -- the October 2010 run-off debate between Paul Gallegos and Allison Jackson was the first live event to be televised from the Access Humboldt studio at Eureka High School. The Redwood ACLU, based in Eureka with over 850 members across the North Coast, is a non-partisan organization that never endorses or opposes candidates for public office.


The format of the debate will start with opening statements and an airing of the candidate’s views on questions posed by the moderator concerning civil liberties issues in Humboldt County. All other questions will be posed by phone-in questions from the television audience at (707) 336-2258, followed by closing statements. Each candidate will have the opportunity to issue rebuttals to the statements of others.


Members of the press or public with questions may contact the Redwood ACLU at (707) 336-2258 or redwoodaclu@hotmail.com, or drop by our office at 917 Third Street in Old Town Eureka.