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On Wednesday Oct. 10, a moderated candidate forum for the Oracle Fire district was held. The forum was sponsored by the Oracle Women’s Network (OWN).
At the beginning of the forum moderated by Liz Tuck, Fire Chief Ortiz gave an overview of the reason the fire district board almost went to three members instead of the five that was announced earlier. In September the Board of Supervisors voted and approved a three member board for the fire district.
Due to some communication issues, the resolution proposing a five person board for the district by their top two administrators did not make it to the Pinal County Elections Office. As a five person board had previously been announced to the electorate, it was felt by the Oracle community that not enough notice was given to the candidates and the community who had believed it would be a five member board as advertised.
Wednesday morning three candidates and several community members went to Florence and spoke at a special meeting with the Board of Supervisors. Thanks to the County Attorney’s office and two of the Board of Supervisors, the Oracle community was allowed to have a voice in deciding the number of members for the Oracle Fire District Board. The Oracle Fire District will have a five member board.
There are seven candidates running for the board. They are Bud Bristow, Ellie Brown, John Duran, Bill Pregdo, Manuel “Manny” Navarro, Charlotte Poole and Bob Rasko.
At the forum each candidate was allowed to speak and let the audience know who they were and why they would be a good candidate for the Board. Two of the candidates did not appear at the forum due to family emergencies.
They were Manny Navarro and Bill Pregdo. After the candidates spoke they were assigned to a table of Oracle residents where they answered questions from community members. They then rotated from table to table until they had met and answered questions from everyone at the forum. It was a great opportunity for the candidates to meet the public and for the community to learn about the candidates.
The women of OWN should be commended for the work they are doing to keep the public informed on election issues.
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