Congressional Debate to Stream Live Wednesday

Candidates in the Second Congressional District race square off in a debate Wednesday that will be broadcast to the world via webcast.

The debate is set for Wednesday, Oct. 5 at Pixel Corps, a Petaluma video production and training company. The new Congressional District 2 spans the California coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, including all of Marin Counry, which was previously part of the former District 6, represented by Lynn Woolsey, .

There are already seven candidates vying for her seat, including Assemblymember , Petaluma Councilwoman , media critic and author and Marin County Supervisor , who will attend the debate. One Republican candidate, , a Vietnam veteran and president of a San Francisco investment company, will also attend.

The debate will have a small in-house audience of about 20 people, but will be viewable online at the California North Coast Media website. It will also be broadcast on public access and commercial stations and highlighted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Part of the reason organizers wanted to do it via the web was to give audiences greater access, said Jason Davies, vice president of business development at audio software firm Bias and a former contender for the Petaluma City Council, who will co-host the debate.

"It's such a big district, so we really want to increase the reach," he said.