Candidate forums planned ahead of Nov. 3 general election

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters will host several candidate forums leading up to the Nov. 3 General Election.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democratic challenger Carolyn Long will participate in a live televised debate sponsored by the nonpartisan League of Women Voters and four newspapers at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, on Clark/Vancouver Television (CVTV). The debate will be available to stream after the live event at CVTV.org.

Long, a political science professor at Washington State University, Vancouver, is challenging Herrera Beutler for the second time in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District. Herrera Beutler was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010 to fill the seat vacated by retiring Brian Baird, and has been re-elected four times since.

The forum is co-sponsored by The Columbian, The (Longview) Daily News, Skamania County Pioneer, The Goldendale Sentinel and the League of Women Voters of Clark County, the League of Women Voters of Cowlitz County and the League of Women Voters of Klickitat-Skamania counties.

“This is truly a cooperative effort between three Leagues and four newspapers and represents the kind of collaboration that can only benefit our communities,” Clark County League co-presidents Nancy Halvorson and Jane Johnson stated in a news release. “The participation of these candidates should offer voters an opportunity to see where they stand on a wide selection of important issues. This effort is all about our mission to empower voters through education.”

Journalist Steve Leader, who retired in April after more than 30 years at Portland’s KXL-FM radio, will serve as moderator during the Oct. 9 debate.

Other local League of Women Voters candidate forums impacting Camas-Washougal voters include:

* 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30 — Legislative District 18 — State Senator: Ann Rivers and Rick Bell; State Representative Position No. 1: Brandon Vick and Kassandra Bessert; and State Representative Position No. 2: Donna L. Sinclair and Larry Hoff.

* 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 3 — County Charter Review Commissioners — Commissioners, At-large, Position 1: Rainy Rau, Doug Lasher and Tom Meilke; Position 2: M. Kirby Ware and Eric Holt; Position 3: Mike Dalesandro, Stephen Sechrist and Justin M. Forsman

* 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 — County Councilor, District 4: Gary Medvigy and Matt Little

* 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 — County Charter Review Commissioners — Commissioners, District 3, Position 2: Parker Davidson, Nena Cavel and Terri Niles; Position 3: Jeff Angelo and Jess Mahan. Commissioners, District 4, Position 1: Thomas Hernandez, Dave Stiles, Deanna Rusch and Chuck Miller; Position 2: John Latta, Brent D. Boger and Glenn Kincaid; Position 3: Liz Pike and Greg K. Anderson.

All candidate forums will be aired live on CVTV, streamed on cvtv.org and available afterwards at cvtv.org.