BEND, OR -- The Bend Chamber will host a series of candidate forums this fall, to help educate people on different races they'll vote on in November. The first is Tuesday evening, with three Bend City Council candidates: Sally Russell, Bruce Abernethy and Justin Livingston.

Jamie Christman, with the Chamber, says they'll tackle a variety of topics. "Of course, we have everything from workforce housing and clearly roads; there are components around charter review, of course. And, big issues that I think they're having are even just on civility, on Council discourse and how they're handling that."

She tells KBND News, "Local elections impact us the most because decisions made at the local level are what actually change our life overnight; it's what shapes our community immediately. So, we feel it's critical and significant to get any kind of election at a local level up on the table for people to be educated and ask questions."

KBND's Kelly Bleyer will serve on the panel, along with Christman and Aaron Swietzer of The Source Weekly. Tuesday's debate is 5:30-7 p.m. at Deschutes Brewery. Click HERE for details.