On October 28, LWV-PA was invited by Neighbors Building a Better Altadena to host the only candidate forum of 2021. Altadena is an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County overseen by the County Board of Supervisors, not a municipality like Pasadena, and the Altadena Town Council is primarily advisory. But councilmembers play an important role in responding to the needs and desires of their constituents and in representing their voice to other levels of government. Altadena residents are civically engaged and highly vocal—and they represent a significant percentage of the LWV-PA membership. Candidate forums in Altadena can be a good example of vibrant grassroots democracy,

The Town Council is made up of eight districts known as census tracts, each represented by two councilmembers serving staggered two-year terms. As a result, there is an election every year. The October candidate forum was held as a webinar; our cosponsors at Neighbors Building a Better Altadena helped with the presentation. Questions for the candidates addressed topics ranging from leaf blowers and street lighting to redistricting. Many thanks to our wonderful LWV-PA Voter Services volunteers: Dorothy Keane, the imperturbable moderator; Valerie Jones, our perceptive question sorter; Jean Buennagel, the patient candidate “wrangler”; Hester Bell, our rigorous timekeeper; and Theresa Fuentes and Joanne Als, our standby co-hosts. For anyone interested in hearing from the candidates but who missed this forum, a video recording is available on our YouTube channel.

—Katherine Gavzy