The yellow school bus parked outside the Graeagle Fire Hall was the first indication that a large crowd was gathering to greet the 1st Congressional District candidates scheduled to appear in a forum hosted by the Plumas County League of Women Voters on Sept. 17.
It was the second meeting for Audrey Denney, a Democrat from Chico, who is challenging Doug LaMalfa, the Republican incumbent from Richvale, in two days. Their Sept. 16 forum in Anderson had to be moved to a larger venue, but even that high school auditorium couldn’t hold the crowds who wanted to hear from them.
The Graeagle forum drew attendees not only from throughout Plumas County, but from Lassen, Sierra, Butte, and Nevada counties as well. The aforementioned bus brought approximately 40 people from Grass Valley.
Lori Simpson, a Plumas County supervisor and president of the League of Women Voters, emceed the event and posed the questions to the candidates. The questions were less about specifics and instead encompassed general topics such as health care, water, global warming and forest health. Simspon told the crowd before the forum to hold applause and comments, including “no clapping, cheering, moaning, groaning,” and for the most part the crowd complied.
In addition to opening and closing statements, each candidate was given two minutes to discuss the topics posed by Simpson, which were compiled from audience questions that had been collected on 3×5 cards.
The responses were candid and personal. The forum pointed out the differences between the two on a variety of issues. Interestingly, their comments mirrored the brochures they made available to attendees —
