Candidate forum set for Tuesday night

Jan. 29—Yuba-Sutter candidates running in contested races in the March 5 presidential primary election will face off Tuesday night during a candidate forum in Marysville.

Set to start at 6 p.m., the forum will take place at the Yuba County Government Center, located at 915 8th St. in Marysville. The event is presented by the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce with a live stream available on the Chamber's Facebook page, facebook.com/YubaSutterChamber.

Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Janell Willis and Appeal-Democrat Editor Robert Summa will moderate the forum. The majority of the questions for the candidates were developed by the Appeal-Democrat Editorial Board.

Those expected to participate in Tuesday's candidate forum include the following: — Sutter County Board of Supervisors District 1: Nic Micheli and Jeff Boone — Sutter County Board of Supervisors District 5: Mat Conant, Jeff Stephens and Sarb Thiara — Yuba County Board of Supervisors District 2: Don Blaser and Renick House — Yuba County Board of Supervisors District 3: John Floe and Seth Fuhrer — Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors North Division: Randy Fletcher, Charlie Mathews, and Don Schrader

With registered voters slated to receive ballots in early February, tonight's forum will be one of the last chances for the public to hear from candidates. According to the California Secretary of State, county elections offices will begin mailing ballots by Feb. 5 with ballot drop-off locations expected to open on Feb. 6.

"Vote-by-mail ballots can be returned by mail, at a drop-off location, or your county elections office," the California Secretary of State's website says. "Vote centers open for early in-person voting in all Voter's Choice Act counties beginning on February 24, 2024. Vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by March 12, 2024."

As in previous elections, all California active registered voters will receive a vote-by-mail ballot. According to the California Secretary of State, the last day to register to vote for the March 5 presidential primary election is Feb. 20.

An official voter information guide can be found online at voterguide.sos.ca.gov.