What Should We Ask City Council, School Board Candidates?

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

Benicia 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  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.

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.

After we build our list of issues, Benicia Patch will send out questionnaires to school board and 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 Patch Editor JB Davis at .

Important Dates:  The filing period for candidates running for school board and City Council is July 18 to Aug. 12. Nomination packets for City Council are available at City Hall, 250 East L St.  or on the city's under the Government & Officials tab. 

Nomination packets for school board will be available at the county Registrar of Voters Office, 675 Texas St., No. 2600, Fairfield, beginning July 18.