The three candidates for the new Congressional seat representing Lehigh and Northampton counties and a small piece of southern Monroe County, will present their views on how the federal government should tackle poverty at a forum as part of the Sept. 26 Annual Meeting of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. The CACLV luncheon begins at 11:45 a.m. in the ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel at Seventh and Hamilton streets in Allentown.=

The program begins at approximately 12:35 p.m. will also include CACLV accomplishments from the fiscal year that ended on June 30 as well as announce some of its initiatives for the current year.

Republican Marty Nothstein, Libertarian Tim Silfies and Democrat Susan Wild will each have ten minutes to present their views on “whether and how the federal government might have a role in improving the quality of those who have been left behind,” CACLV Executive Director Alan Jennings said, adding, “They can speak philosophically, they can speak about specific policy positions they might have, they can speak from a faith perspective or whatever other way they might choose.”

The agency expects more than 200 guests, from corporate CEO’s to formerly homeless adults, to attend the event.

Established in December 1965 as part of the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty, CACLV has a $25 million annual budget and 100 employees. It operates the Sixth Street Shelter, the Second Harvest Food Bank, four community development subsidiaries that help people start their own businesses, make loans to small and micro-businesses, rehab houses and revitalize neighborhoods. The agency also helps people buy their first homes, protects homeowners from foreclosure, prepares cash assistance recipients for employment, weatherizes homes and a variety of other activities.