Candidate forums are coming
Planned Jan. 24 and 31 at Woodland Community Center
The Woodland and Davis Area Leagues of Women Voters will be co-sponsoring candidate forums in advance of the March 5 presidential primary election on Jan. 24 and 31 at the Woodland Community and Senior Center, located at 2001 East St.
According to a local press release, the forums will focus on candidate qualifications and visions for their respective positions over the next six years.
The first candidate forum for Yolo Superior Court Judge will be Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. The candidates are Clara Levers and Chris Dietrich.
The second forum for Yolo County Board of Supervisor Districts 3 and 5 will occur on Wednesday, Jan. 31, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The Board of Supervisor District 3 candidates are Mary Vixie Sandy and Xochitl Rodriguez Murillo. The candidates for District 5 are Angel Barajas and Paul Bridge.
Questions will be prepared by League representatives and written questions will be accepted from the audience, but no voice questions or statements will be allowed. No campaign literature or paraphernalia, such as signs, tshirts, hats, or buttons will be permitted inside the meeting room.
Superior Court candidate Clara Levers follows generations of family who have lived in Yolo County.
For the past 15 years, she has been a Deputy Attorney General, representing the State of California in state and federal courts, managing complex litigation, and prosecuting criminal cases.
In addition to her legal work, Levers is heavily involved in the community, volunteering with Girl Scouts Troop 1686 in Davis and the Woodland Swim Team as well as having served as a volun
teer attorney with the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation.
Dietrich was raised in Davis and lives in Woodland, where he practices law. Over the past ten years, he has helped Yolo County residents with civil legal matters. He also runs a monthly free legal clinic for survivors of domestic violence and has worked as a Temporary Judge for the past four years.
For the Jan. 31 forum, Board of Supervisors District 3 candidate, Mary Vixie Sandy was appointed to serve as Board of Supervisor for District 3 following the passing of her husband, Gary Sandy.
In addition to her work on the Board of Supervisors, Dr. Sandy, who holds a doctorate in education from UC Berkeley, serves as the executive director of the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. She has previously held positions at the UC Davis School of Education, California State University Chancellor's Office, and California Department of Education.
In November 2022, Dr. Sandy was awarded the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards James A. Kelly Award.
Rodriguez Murillo was born in Saint Helena and raised in Woodland. In 2019, she was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve as Deputy Secretary for Minority Veterans at the California Department of Veterans Affairs.
She has also served as a U.S. Army Reserve sergeant since 2012. She worked for the State Legislature from 2008 to 2019 in different capacities, then served as a Council member for the city of Woodland from 2016 to 2020, including a year as mayor.
Barajas was born in Woodland and earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California. He has served as an Assistant Deputy to a member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, a Parks and Recreation Commissioner, a School Board Member and a Woodland City Council member.
Barajas has served as supervisor since 2021, which covers parts of Woodland and small towns and unincorporated areas in the Capay Valley and northern Yolo County.
Bridge has lived in Yolo County for over 12 years. He is a member of Yolo County's Special Education Local Plan Area, which he has described as an agency that oversees special education in the county.
In November 2023, Bridge was recognized by the Woodland City Council in honor of “Extra Mile Day,” a day meant to recognize people fueling positive change in the community, for his volunteer work in the renovations of two homes for persons in need. The Daily Democrat also named Bridge as its firstever Yolo County Hero.
Immediately following the first forum on Jan. 24, there will be a “pros and cons” forum on Proposition 1, known as the Behavioral Health Services Program and Bond Measure, sponsored by the Davis Area League of Women Voters' Healthcare Committee, with assistance from the Woodland League's Mental Health Study Group.
On Jan. 31, the Davis League will be sponsoring a separate candidate forum for the District 4 Board of Supervisor candidates.
Woodland TV, Channel 21, will be videotaping the events and live streaming them on their YouTube channels.
Links to the videos will also be available on the League of Women Voters of Woodland website at https://my.lwv.org/california/woodland.
The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization dedicated to voter education and empowering citizens to shape better communities worldwide. The views of the candidates do not necessarily reflect the views of the League of Women Voters.