Candidate Forum on Human Services - October 12, 2011 5:30 - 8:30 PM - Bellingham Municipal Court

Mark your calendars! This is one of the best Candidate Forums of the election season. Thank you, Liz, for forwarding the  candidate questions to us.

Candidate Forum on Human Services
Whatcom County and City of Bellingham Elections

Come to the Candidate Forum on Human Services
Issues: Poverty, Hunger, Homelessness, Health & Early Childhood Education
October 12th, 2011, 5:30-8:30 PM, Bellingham Municipal Court, 2014 C Street, Bellingham, Washington.
Candidates running for Whatcom County Council, County Executive, Sheriff, Bellingham City Council, and City of Bellingham Mayor, will respond to questions regarding topics of Poverty, Hunger, Homelessness, Health & Early Childhood Education in our community. Forum sponsors include: Bellingham Food Bank, Interfaith Community Health Center, Opportunity Council, United Way of Whatcom County, Whatcom Coalition to End Homelessness, & Whatcom Anti-Hunger Coalition.
This event will be broadcast LIVE on BTV-10.
For more information about this event, please contact United Way of Whatcom County - 733-8670

Below are the responses to the Candidate Forum on Basic Needs Questionnaire. The responses are available in two ways, either sorted by question (available by clicking each question) or sorted by position (available by clicking on the link below).
Click here for all answers sorted by position

Click below to see each question answered by all positions

1. Due to the recession, service providers across Whatcom County report increasing demands for services, and that there is a new face to poverty: families who have never before had to seek help. Yet both the state legislature and local governments have repeatedly cut the budgets of key services. How do you intend to reconcile the contradiction between increasing needs and decreasing resources?
2. According to the US Census Bureau, in 2009 15.5% of Whatcom County residents lived in poverty, significantly higher than the state's 12.3% average. Considering as many as one in six Whatcom County residents is now living in poverty, what is your philosophy about the role of local government in reducing poverty and in providing for the basic needs of citizens?
3. Nonprofit human service organizations not only respond to the needs of people living in poverty, but they also provide jobs, including those that pay professional wages. Like small businesses, nonprofits spend most of their income locally on salaries, as well as goods and services from other local businesses. In addition to limiting the services to low-income citizens at their time of greatest need, reduced funding to human service organizations also causes further erosion in the job market for living wage employment. Where do nonprofit human service organizations fit into your overall strategy for local economic development?