Worcester candidates to face voters in series of pre-election forums

WORCESTER - Several Worcester non-profit groups are giving Worcester voters a chance to find out more about the candidates in the Nov. 3 election. The Initiative for Engaged Citizenship, Worcester Common Ground, the Worcester Branch NAACP, and a coalition of non-profit community based organizations are sponsoring the "2015 Worcester City Council At Large Forum series."

On Tuesday, the 12 candidates who will be on the ballot in November, as well as the two candidates who will face off in District 2, were chosen in a primary. The November election will have races for at-large council seats, mayor, School Committee and districts 1, 2 and 4.

The forums are for the at-large council candidates, from which the next mayor will be elected.

In total, there will be four forums, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Family Health Center, 26 Queen St., Worcester. The forums are topic-based. The topic for Sept. 16 is Community Development and Neighborhood Revitalization.

The remaining forums are:

• Wednesday, Sept. 30, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St. The topic is: Youth Opportunities and Business Development;

• Wednesday, Oct. 14, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at YWCA of Central Mass., 1 Salem Square. The topic is: Civic Engagement and Accessible Government: Making City Hall Work for Everyone;

• Wednesday, Oct. 28, 6 to 7:30 p.m., at Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem St. Topic is: Public Safety, Policing, and Community Engagement.

The Initiative for Engaged Citizenship is a non-profit, non partisan social incubator dedicated to "civic empowerment," a press release from the group states. It partners with organizations to conduct voter education efforts and also hosts a series of workshops relating to community engagement.

Sponsors of this year's forum series include the African Community Education Program, ACLU of MA, Canal District Alliance, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement (EPOCA), Main South Community Development Corporation (CDC), Neighbor 2 Neighbor Education Fund, Oak Hill CDC and the Neighborworks HomeOwnership Center of Central Mass., the Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Mass., the Worcester Branch of the NAACP, Worcester Common Ground, Worcester Community Labor Coalition, the Worcester Educational Collaborative and the YWCA of Central Mass.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For updates, visit the initiative's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/IECWorcester.

Organizations seeking to learn more about the forum series or to become a sponsor can contact David LeBoeuf at David@IECWorcester.org or Charise Canales at ccanales@wcg-cdc.com.

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