VICA Organizes Candidates’ Forum

The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. is sponsoring a candidates’ forum today for Democratic gubernatorial candidate John Garamendi and 25 others running for state and federal office in the June 7 primary.

Candidates will respond to questions from a panel of VICA members and will make themselves available to the public at informational booths.

Candidates for state office are Garamendi; Republican Bill Jones, who is running for secretary of state; Democrat Don Perata, running for state controller; Phil Angelides, a Democrat running for state treasurer, and Jim Conran, a Republican running for state insurance commissioner.

Five candidates for the 24th Congressional District seat--Republicans Mark Boos Benhard, Robert Hammer, Emery Shane, Richard Sybert and Democrat Scott Gaulke--will be present.

Also attending will be James Gilmartin, a Democrat running for the 25th Congressional District seat, and Gary Forsch and Bill Glass, Republicans running in the 26th Congressional District.

Six candidates for the state Assembly’s 42nd District seat--Republican Robert Davis and Democrats John Duran, Wally Knox, Paul Koretz, Laura Lake and Mark Slavkin--will be present.

Republicans Michael Meehan and Peter Eason and Democrats Sheila Kuehl, Pat McGuire and Bill Rothbard, vying for the 41st Assembly District seat, will attend, along with Josh Arce, a Democrat running for the 38th District Assembly seat, and Herschel Rosenthal, who is running for reelection in Senate District 20.

The forum, which begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 1:30 p.m., will be held at Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12833 Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. Cost for VICA members is $16 for breakfast and $25 for lunch; for non-members, $20 for breakfast and $30 for lunch.