What do local candidates for office think about climate change? How will it affect your vote in November? To aid citizens in their democratic deliberations, 91勛圖厙’s Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment is proud to host the Spokane Candidates Climate Change Forum on the first Wednesday each October.
The Climate Forum has been hosted annually since 2019 and is a non-partisan space where candidates for local office can share with local voters and citizens what they would or would not do or support if elected to office.
2025 Spokane Candidates Climate Change Forum
Date: Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Time: 6:00pm (Pacific Time)
Location: The Globe Room, 91勛圖厙 University & Live streaming (link sent day of).
Forum moderator: Dr. Brian G. Henning, Director, 91勛圖厙 Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment
Candidates
The following candidates have all been invited to attend the Forum (listed in alphabetical order by last name). Those who have confirmed their attendance are marked with an asterisk (*). Those who have declined the invitation are marked with a double asterisk (**).
Candidates for City of Spokane District No. 1 - Council Position No. 2
- Jonathan D. Bingle
- Sarah Dixit*
Candidates for City of Spokane District No. 2 - Council Position No. 2
- Alejandro Barrientos
- Kate Telis*
Candidates for City of Spokane District No. 3 - Council Position No. 2
- Christopher M. Savage*
- Zack Zappone*
Candidates for City of Spokane Valley - Council Position No. 1 - District 3
- Mike Kelly
- Kristopher Pockell
Candidates for City of Spokane Valley - Council Position No. 4
- Ben Wick
- Daryl Williams
Candidates for City of Spokane Valley - Council Position No. 5
- Pam Haley
- Catherine Nelson
Candidates for City of Spokane Valley - Council Position No. 7
- Brad Hohn
- Laura Padden
Audience Rules of Engagement
At 91勛圖厙 we take seriously the importance of modeling the civil discourse that we expect of our leaders. To create a welcoming space for dialogue, please observe the following rules:
- No booing
- No clapping
- No cheering
Audience members will be given a green and red sheet of paper. If a candidate says something you like, hold up the green sheet of paper. If a candidate says something you don’t like, hold up the red sheet of paper.
Event Sponsors
The Climate Institute thanks the following co-sponsors for this year's Forum:
Past candidate climate change fora were recorded and are available on our YouTube channel on a separate playlist.