City Council Candidates Night Set for Oct. 17

What questions would you like to ask candidates for the Novato City Council? Let us know and we’ll consider them at a candidate forum Oct. 17 at , hosted by the Novato Community Alliance. The event is titled "City of Reason, Season of Elections."

From 7:30-9 p.m., the candidates vying for three open seats on the council in the Nov. 8 election will make opening statements, answer questions from a panel (90-second limit on answers) and field submitted questions from the public.

Madeline Kellner and Jeanne MacLeamy are incumbents. The challengers are Manny Fernandez, Jerome Ghigliotti, Eric Lucan, Leslie Peterson Schwarze and Eleanor Sluis.

The forum, to be moderated by Novato Patch editor Brent Ainsworth, is a nonpartisan effort open to Novato residents and those who live within the city’s urban growth boundaries. The requested donation is $5 to help cover costs of the venue rental, although nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

The Novato Community Alliance formed in 2010 when Novato was first discussing the controversial housing element of the city’s general plan. The group “works to add the voice of the community to the city’s decision-making process about growth, planning, housing/land use, crime and other issues of significant public interest, and to promote greater public participation in shaping successful solutions,” according to the website.

People submitting questions are encouraged to identify any neighborhood organizations or improvement associations with which they are affiliated to help promote fair representation. Anyone showing up at the event can turn in a question on a 3-by-5-inch card and it will be considered by the forum organizers.

Plans to air the event on Novato Public Access Television are to be announced later.