MOORPARK : College Begins Drive to Get Out the Vote

Moorpark College will begin a five-day drive today to register students to vote, inform them about political issues and introduce them to candidates seeking local, state and federal offices.

The drive will run today through Friday and will include forums for candidates running for the state Assembly, state Senate and Congress.

There will also be forums for candidates running for mayor and City Council in Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, said Allyn Olson, student services specialist at the college.

Olson said college officials were going to hold a voter registration drive for students but decided to do more.

Besides the candidate forums, various nonprofit groups and public agencies will set up information tables on campus. And college faculty will speak during the week on topics such as health care, family values and overpopulation in the United States.

Each day will be devoted to a different issue. Today, the theme will be the environment; Tuesday, education; Wednesday, the U.S. economy; Thursday, social issues; and Friday, foreign policy.

The scheduled speeches and forums by political candidates include:

* Democrat Roz McGrath and Oxnard Mayor Nao Takasugi, a Republican, candidates for the 37th Assembly District: 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on the campus quadrangle.

* Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), a candidate for the 19th District state Senate seat: noon Thursday on the quadrangle.

* Anita Perez Ferguson, Democratic candidate for the 23rd Congressional District: 12:30 p.m. Thursday in the same location.

The Moorpark candidates forum will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday in the campus cafeteria. The Simi Valley candidates forum will be Wednesday at the same time and location. Candidates for Thousand Oaks offices will speak from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at a location to be announced.

For more information on the week’s activities, call 378-1434.