San Benito event to introduce city, school candidates

SAN BENITO — With Election Day early next month, the Chamber of Commerce wants voters to know who exactly is running.

The Chamber will be hosting its annual Meet the Candidates event this week.

Residents will have the opportunity to meet with candidates running for school board trustee and city commissioner one-on-one.

Currently, there are five candidates running for a seat on the school board and four candidates running for city commissioner. Election Day is May 5 and early voting runs from April 23 to May 1.

Chamber of Commerce President Sandee Alvarez said she doesn’t have a complete head count of all the candidates attending, but more than half have confirmed their attendance at the forum.

Alvarez said a lot of the time, residents see the names on the posters but don’t really know who is running and what platforms they are running on.

“We want to give each candidate the opportunity to introduce themselves and put a face to the name,” Alvarez said.

Candidates will each receive between three and five minutes to talk.

During that time, candidates will present who they are, what they are running for and what they believe in.

Alvarez said the event will not be conducted in a debate style nor will there be moderators asking questions.

“Basically, we want the business community to make the informed decision and know who our candidates are,” Alvarez said.

Residents will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the candidates after their speeches to learn more.

“A lot of the candidates have their own meet-and-greets and attendees at those meets are already supporters,” Alvarez said. “This is just kind of an opportunity to meet them all in one place without feeling like they’re supporting one or the other.”