Saturdays’ Pancakes and Politics breakfast was a syrupy success that included 20 local candidates and all the pancakes you could eat. The morning started off with questionable weather, but only a couple raindrops fell on the event. By 9:00 a.m. the sun was shining and everyone was enjoying their meals and conversations.

City Council Member Ken Cooley put on Saturdays function and will continue to do similar events in other neighborhoods in the coming weeks. Last month the Cordova Towne neighborhood association held a successful Pancakes and Politics breakfast and Lincoln Village will be hosting another on the 25th of  October. Councilman Cooley says the most important thing is having the members of the community come out and actually talk with the candidates. He stated, “It makes it so much more personal”. Voters are then able to ask the questions and discuss the issues that are the most important to them. They can make a better educated decision for who they will be voting into office.

The breakfast at Sunriver Park welcomed between 150-175 people.  There were a total of 20 candidates that attended. From the City Council Race, we saw Councilmen David Sander, Bob McGarvey and Ken Cooley. The candidates running for the Cordova Recreation and Park District Board that attended were candidates David Ivazian, Dave Lapierre, Rick Sloan, Kendall Tough and Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Baxter. From the Folsom Cordova Unified School District race, we saw Board Member Teresa Stanley as well as candidates Conrade Mayer, Marilyn Maggio, Gary Johnson, JoAnne Reinking and Kumar Kalagala. Nancy Bui and Mark Bahouth attended and both are running for the SMUD Board. Allyson Huber was the only candidate to attend who is running for the State Assembly. Candidates for the 3rd Congressional District race included Bill Durston, Art Tuma, and Congressman Dan Lungren.

There comes a point for many people when the television political ads are muted, mailers are immediately thrown in the recycle bin, and people are just burnt out from political races as a whole. But very rarely are communities offered a gift such as the series of Pancakes and Politics Breakfasts. Very rarely do communities have casual events that encourage families to come to a local park and talk with the candidates. What better way to get to know the leaders you will be voting for in less than a month?  Take some time out of your busy weekend and meet the candidates and appreciate what a wonderful opportunity this presents.

For more information and candidate statements please review our additional coverage in our Election ‘08 section.