El Paso City Council candidates share platforms in an open forum

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso community gathered at EPCC Valle Verde campus Saturday for an open forum to hear from candidates who are vying for District 5 and 6 elections.

The open forum was organized by Community First Coalition with the goal of informing the public about the candidate's positions before early voting begins on Oct. 24, for the upcoming November election.

Main topics that were discussed included climate change and the integrity of local roads.

An emphasis was placed on informing local students about community issues and getting them involved in local politics.

"The students, after all, are the future generation so they need to be informed about issues and they need to vote," said Kathy Staudt, the Community First Coalition El Paso co-moderator.

Students who attended felt the forum was informative.

"I work in heavy civils, so roads and bridges so anything infrastructure related kind of perked my ears a little bit, but it was all great," said Ed Anderson an EPCC student. "I'm glad I attended, got to hear some great perspectives. I'm excited moving forward for the election".

A second forum will be held on October 16th at the Sacred Heart Gymnasium with candidates vying for Districts 1 and 8.