[Excerpt:]

The five candidates vying for two open positions on the Davis City Council, to be decided June 6, fielded questions at a forum Monday night. They weighed in on issues such as community-police relations, managing land-use problems and the maintenance of Davis parks, greenbelts and neighborhoods.

Among candidates Ruth Asmundson, Lamar Heystek, Rob Roy, Mike Levy and Stan Forbes the most controversial issue was community-police relations, which have been under recent scrutiny.

Candidates made it clear that they feel this issue must be tackled in the wake of the alleged Halema Buzayan hit-and-run case that occurred last summer. After the case was publicized by the media in March, April saw back-to-back City Council meetings addressing the incident have taken place, with angry citizens alleging that the Davis Police Department has perpetrated racial profiling and discrimination throughout the community.

"I want our police to live in Davis," said Roy, a UC Davis student and a member of the Green Party who said he is in favor of creating a citizen-based police review board.

Heystek, a UC Davis alumnus and lecturer in the linguistics department, agreed with Roy on the issue.

"Police oversight should be communal," said Heystek, who spoke out against race-based discrimination at a City Council meeting last month.

Mike Levy, another UC Davis alumnus and current attorney for the State Water Resources Control Board, said he believes a citizen review board would not work because the average Davis resident is unfamiliar with criminal law and police procedure.

Another prominent issue raised at the forum was land-use management. Candidates explained their plans to maintain parks and neighborhoods, expand downtown parking and respect the Davis tradition of slow growth and open space....

A common bond among candidates was the goal of creating affordable housing for students and city employees.

"We're becoming a community where people can't afford to live," said Levy, citing the recent retirement of four Davis Police officers....