Candidates Forum 2020

The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce and Pleasanton Weekly are hosting a Candidates Forum, featuring the mayoral and city council candidates in the November 2020 election. The forum, which is a free event and open to the public, will take place virtually on Thursday, September 3 from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
 
There are five candidates seeking election for mayor: Karla Brown and Jerry Pentin, both of whom are city council members terming out of their positions. Joining Brown and Pentin in the mayoral race are Druthi Ghanta, Monith Ilavarasan and Tom Turpel. Mayor Jerry Thorne is completing his fourth and final term as the City's mayor in November.
 
For the two seats open on the council, there are seven candidates on the ballot: Nancy Allen, Valerie Arkin, Jack Balch, Randy Brown, Jarod Buna, Zarina Kiziloglu and Chiman Lee.
 
Moderating the forum will be Pleasanton Weekly President and Publisher Gina Channell as well as the Weekly's Editor Jeremy Walsh. The mayoral candidates will face questions from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m., with a 15 minute break before the city council candidates join the panel. The council portion will run from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m.
 
The virtual event is free and open to everyone. Online registration is required in advance here.
 
Any citizen that would like to submit a question in advance may do so via email to Pleasanton Chamber President/CEO Steve Van Dorn at steve@pleasanton.org. Please include your first and last name and send your email no later than Tuesday, September 1 by 5:00 p.m.