The San Diego County Public Defender Youth Council is back
in business for the 2019-2020 school year and this year we are tackling
three ambitious projects, including the 25 Most Remarkable Teens in San Diego.
But our first project is two Youth Candidate Forums, the
first for Mayoral candidates on Wednesday February 5, 2020 and the second for
Board of Supervisor candidates on Thursday, February 6, 2020, both from 6:00 –
7:30 in the Neil Morgan Auditorium at the San Diego Central Library.
All three Mayoral candidates have agreed to participate and eight of the 10
Board of Supervisor candidates will be participating.
The forums will be moderated by Matthew Hall, Opinion
Editor for the San Diego Union Tribune. Mayor Kevin Faulconer will be our
guest of honor introducing the Mayoral candidates on February 5, 2020 and
Supervisor Nathan Fletcher will be our guest of honor introducing the Board of
Supervisor candidates on February 6, 2020.
We’re asking for your help in promoting the event at all
San Diego County High Schools, through government and history
classes. We have attached a letter to the teachers explaining the event
and various ways teachers can encourage and lead students to
participate. We can’t do this without the students and teachers,
and we are hoping you will pass this information on to the teachers at your
school who can best help.
The first thing we need is student submitted questions
– we are including a list of the issue areas that San Diego teens have
identified as important to guide the teachers when asking students to come up
with smart, thoughtful questions for consideration.
The second thing we need is student attendance on each of
the two nights. We have 600 seats to fill – 300 for each night
- and student participation is key to the success of the forums. Young
people often complain they are not respected, included or valued by adults –
these forums are an opportunity to show the community that San Diego teens are
interested in local issues and civic engagement. If we don’t fill the
auditorium, it will also show the community the opposite, that students are not
committed enough to actively engage when invited to.
We can’t think of a more important hands-on learning
opportunity for our high school teachers and students during this highly
anticipated election year, where many of our teens will turn 18 and be eligible
to vote.
Best regards,
Connie Howard
San Diego County Public Defender
Youth Council Advisor
619-446-2909
