By Jason KUROSU

This Saturday, Nov. 6 marks the election for Crescenta Valley Town Council members. An open forum hosted by the CV Community Assn. was held at Dunsmore Park on Oct. 27, in which any and all could attend and hear the candidates speak. The background of the candidates is diverse, ranging from lawyers to business owners to doctors. One thing bound them: a desire to improve Crescenta Valley.

Each candidate was allotted 10 minutes to speak about what drove them to run for town council and what issues they sought to address should they become a member. After they spoke, audience members were free to chime in and ask the candidates questions.

It was unlike many other political forums in which the frame of mind of the prospective politicians is so distant from those of the people voting. Many of the candidates, when asked what issues had sparked them the most, spoke of the same topics that members of the audience brought up in questioning. Development issues and improvements to housing were often brought up. The Station Fire of last year appeared to be a major impetus for residents wanting to join the council, as they were disappointed and angry over the way the evacuation was handled.

Overall, what was emphasized when speaking on these topics was communication between the city leaders, the town council and the residents of Crescenta Valley. Candidates and audience members alike were frustrated and unhappy about the lack of knowledge and information being disseminated to the community. The Station Fire was used often as a glaring example of this, in which many residents stated that they received more information on the fire and evacuation procedures from other cities’ news reports than from their own. Even with each candidate having their own separate areas of interest, this emphasis on communication, and how to spread information and interest in the community was a key subject.

Voting for the Crescenta Valley Town Council is being held at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only residents of the unincorporated portion of Los Angeles County are eligible to cast a ballot.

  cvtc, elections