The League of Women Voters is holding the third of three political forums this Saturday morning, Oct 22 at 9:30 am. The first was held on Saturday, Oct 15, the second on Tuesday evening, Oct 18, and you can read those agendas in the graphic after this article.

All three forums are in the Bellingham city council chamber. All three are being streamed live on BTV10 and then available for watching at later scheduled dates. We will link to the schedule from this article later. All are at times when parking near the city hall is free.

As far as I know, these are the only live forums being presented to the public this election. While several clubs and groups have selected speakers on issues and candidates at their meetings, there are no other general open to the public forums. Seeing a candidate speak live is usually a very revealing experience as we get to really measure the person. On the first Saturday, I was the speaker against the Greenways 4 levy. An article will be posted soon on why.

This schedule is lifted from the LWV website and is here to help promote the forums. We have a permanent link to the League’s website on the right side column of links - up near the top. I tremendously respect how the League has remained neutral and yet very committed to being informative on political issues over the decades. A thanks to them for putting on these forums.

Forum 3: Saturday, October 22nd, 9:30-11:30am
Pro & Con Debate on State Ballot Issues
Initiative 732: Carbon Consumption Tax. Concerning reducing specific state taxes and creating a carbon tax.
Initiative 1433: Raise-Up Washington. Concerning raising the state minimum wage.
Initiative 1464: Government Accountability. Concerning campaign finance reform, disclosure and enforcement, and creation of a public campaign financing program.

Ballots will be mailed on Wednesday, Oct 19, to all Whatcom County registered voters. Most of us will receive our ballots on Friday and Saturday, Oct 21 and 22. November 8 is election day, so if mailing your ballot, do it before noon on November 7 or risk a late postmark. Up to 8 pm on Tuesday, Nov 8, you can put your ballot in one of the 15 drop boxes around the county. Here is the Auditor page map for all the ballot drop boxes around the county. Auditor Debbie Adelstein has done a great job locating these ballot boxes in convenient locations. The ballots are picked up daily and a final time at 8 pm election day.