State Assembly and District 2 Candidates Debate the Issues

Posted: Thursday, April 26, 2012 1:53 pm

Candidates for the 5th State Assembly District opined on issues such as the state budget, the death penalty and gay rights at a debate held in San Andreas Tuesday.

Of the six candidates running, Mark Belden, Marc Boyd, Tim Fitzgerald and Thomas “Rico” Oller participated in the debate. Frank Bigelow and Kevin Lancaster were no-shows.

The 5th District stretches from portions of El Dorado and Placer counties in the north to Madera County in the south.

The debate was held at the Calaveras County Public Access Television studio and sponsored by the Calaveras Enterprise. It will begin airing May 18 on Public Access Television.

Watch the full debate on calaverasenterprise.com starting Friday

District 2 Board of Supervisor candidates Mike Dell’Orto, Chris Wright and Bryce Randall stood-off in a debate held in San Andreas Tuesday night.

The candidates fielded questions on a host of issues, including economic development, unemployment and how to handle the Calaveras County’s  shrinking budget.

District 2 includes the communities of Mokelumne Hill, Paloma, West Point, Wilseyville, Glencoe/Rail Road Flat, Sheep Ranch, Mountain Ranch, and Calaveritas.

Supervisor candidates look to fill the seat vacated by current Supervisor Steve Wilensky, who opted not to run for re-election.

A fourth candidate, Thomas Swartz of Wilseyville, did not respond to invitations to join in on the debate.

The debate was held at the Calaveras County Public Access Television studio and sponsored by the Calaveras Enterprise. The debate will first air May 18 on the Public Access station.

To watch the full debate, and read the full story, visit calaverasenterprise.com.