RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The Rancho Cordova campaign trail comes to your telephone or computer next week during a Zoom edition of a candidate forum.

The Cordova Community Council and Rancho Cordova Chamber of Commerce are teaming up to present “Conversations with the Candidates,” a series of 15-minute interviews with the six candidates looking to be elected to the Rancho Cordova City Council in November.

Three seats are up for grabs Nov. 3, with three incumbents running to hang on to their seats.  Council members David Sander, Donald Terry and Robert McGarvey are all seeking re-election.

They are being challenged by a trio of candidates, all hoping to join the council for fresh four-year terms.  They include Donald Childs, Siri Pulipati and Jack Zwald.

In a normal campaign year, candidates would have been knocking on doors and attending campaign events to promote their efforts.  But the corona virus has changed that. 

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 7, voters will be able to Zoom in from the safety of their homes to hear more in-depth conversations with the candidates – and pose a few questions of their own.

The Cordova Community Council and Chamber teamed up earlier in September for their election year “Campaign Whistlestop,” but are responding to a desire by voters to know more about the City Council candidates by organizing the Oct. 7 event.

Here’s how it will work:

Audience members will sign up in advance to receive a Zoom link to attend the event.  To sign up, visit ranchocordova.org and follow the links for events, registering on the Campaign Forum link.  Deadline to register is Oct. 6.

On event night, all candidates will open with a three-minute statement about themselves and why they are seeking election.  Following that round, the candidates will be interviewed by Shelly Blanchard, executive director of the Cordova Community Council and former longtime editor of The Grapevine Independent.

All candidates have been provided questions on three important issues:  homeless response; support or opposition to the Measure R half-cent sales tax increase, which is also on the ballot; and a discussion of police performance in Rancho Cordova.

During the interviews, audience members may also enter questions into the Q&A function of Zoom, and the moderator will attempt to get to many of those questions, as well.

The process will continue with each candidate until all have been interviewed.

Diann Rogers, Chamber President and CEO, said that providing candidates with some questions in advance is meant to produce thoughtful answers on important topics.  The “speed question” portion of the conversation is provided to get to other issues on the minds of voters in the city.

There is no charge for the event, which is being organized as a public service by both organizations.

Registration for “Candidate Forum: Conversations with the Candidates” is now open at ranchocordova.org and will close Oct. 6.  A link will be sent to all voters who register for the event as it draws closer.