OTTA United and community partners host a local candidate forum at UC San Diego

On Monday, October 24th, OTTA United was pleased to welcome candidates for City Council District 6 and candidates for Office 35 of the San Diego County Superior Court to the Triton's Choice Candidate Forum. Although City Council District 6 candidates Kent Lee and Tommy Hough and Office 35 of the San Diego County Superior Court candidates Rebecca Kanter and Mike Murphy were all invited and confirmed to attend the Triton's Choice Candidate Forum, Tommy Hough and Mike Murphy were unable to attend due to unforeseen circumstances.

After all of OTTA United’s hard work and dedication, over 80 tritons were able to come and speak to local San Diego candidates, representing a resounding victory for student engagement in local politics. 

Leaders from the Youth Voter Engagement Project (YVEP), one of OTTA United’s project initiatives, worked tirelessly to bring this successful UC San Diego candidate forum to fruition. Nicole Lillie and Yvania Rubio, the Project Director and Assistant Project Director of YVEP, provided a space for dialogue between candidates and UC San Diego students so as to encourage mutual interaction and mitigate voter roll-off. According to William K. Hall of Bradley University, voter roll-off refers to “voters who cast ballots in the major partisan race such as president, governor, or U.S. Senator, but who do not cast their votes in [down-ballot elections such as] the judicial election.”

Through the space that was provided, elected officials were able to speak about the importance of the city council and superior court races and why students should pay attention to these particular elections, with the intention of bridging any potential gaps in understanding about local candidates and forging confident young voters. 

Hosted at UC San Diego by OTTA United and our partner student organizations at UC San Diego, we called upon candidates to listen to students’ voices, and local San Diego candidates stepped up to the plate. As we celebrate the success of the Triton’s Choice candidate forum, OTTA will continue to champion student voices and listen to youth needs.

Thank you to our collaborators for making this event possible, including:

• Associated Students of UC San Diego, Office of Local Affairs

• Graduate & Professional Student Association

• Seventh College Student Council

• Eleanor Roosevelt College Student Council

• Thurgood Marshall College Student Council