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Matt Shriver, political campaign manager, discusses the recent Akron mayor’s race

On October 13, Campaign Battleground welcomed Matt Shriver to our class.

Matt Shriver was the campaign manager for Eddie Sipplen’s Akron mayoral campaign this year. Mr. Shriver served in the Army before earning his B.A. from Florida Atlantic University and his M.Ed. from the University of Richmond. Mr. Shriver has worked as the National Service Officer for the Disabled Veterans of America, a Veterans Rep for the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and the Assistant Deputy Director for the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. He has also worked on numerous political campaigns throughout his career.

Mr. Shriver discussed his career and Mr. Sipplen’s campaign for mayor. Our discussion occurred the night of the Akron Press Club Debate between Mr. Sipplen and eventual winner Dan Horrigan. Mr. Shriver gave us his insider’s take on the debate and was excited to hear the reception of students who had watched it. He also discussed the difficulties of running a Republican candidate’s campaign in a traditionally Democratic city as well as his view on the 2016 presidential cycle.

Watch the full conversation below or by visiting the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics YouTube channel.

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Caitlin Huey-Burns, Real Clear Politics political reporter, discusses political journalism on the national stage

On October 6, Campaign Battleground welcomed Caitlyn Huey-Burns to our class.

Ms. Huey-Burns is a political reporter for the news and polling website Real Clear Politics. She earned her B.A. from John Carroll University and her M.A. in journalism from Georgetown University. Before joining the Real Clear team, she wrote for U.S. News & World Report. Throughout her career, Ms. Huey-Burns has covered politics, both on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill.

During our discussion, Ms. Huey-Burns shared the special challenges of writing for a Web-based publication and the difference between reporting on legislative news and reporting during the election season. She also gave us her take on the 2016 presidential election.

Watch the full conversation below or by visiting the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics YouTube channel.

 

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Stephanie Warsmith, Akron Beacon Journal political reporter, discusses political journalism and Akron’s recent mayoral race

On September 29, Campaign Battlegrounds welcomed Stephanie Warsmith to our class.

Ms. Warsmith covers local politics for the Akron Beacon Journal. She has a B.A. from The Ohio State University and previously worked for the Mansfield News Journal and the Thomson Newspapers Statehouse Bureau in Columbus. She has been with the Beacon Journal since 1998, covering numerous topics before focusing on the local politics beat.

Ms. Warsmith joined us to share her unique experiences in journalism and Akron politics. Click here to read more about what was discussed.

Watch the full conversation below or by visiting the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics YouTube channel.

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Police Chief Jim Nice discusses community-based policing, body cameras and policing in Akron, Ohio

On September 22, Campaign Battleground welcomed Chief Jim Nice to our class.

Chief Nice, Chief of Police for the City of Akron Police Department since 2011, grew up in Akron’s Kenmore neighborhood before joining the Navy. He earned his B.A. in Education from the University of Akron and M.A. from East Texas State University before joining the FBI. During his 26 years with the FBI, he took part in numerous undercover operations, eventually rising to Director of Undercover Operations for the Bureau.

During our discussion, Chief Nice talked about his career, policing in Akron and how the Akron Police Department works to prevent problematic relationships between the police and civilians through community-based policing and the use of body cameras.

Watch the full conversation below or by visiting the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics YouTube channel.

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Mark Weaver, communications consultant and attorney, discusses state politics and the 2016 presidential debate

On September 15, Campaign Battleground welcomed Mark Weaver to our class.

Mr. Weaver is a consultant and lawyer working in Columbus, Ohio. During his career, he has served as Deputy Attorney General of the State of Ohio; founder of Communications Counsel , a communications consulting firm, prosecutor in Southern Ohio; and adjunct professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and The Bliss Institute at The University of Akron.

The Columbus Dispatch called Mr. Weaver “one of the most powerful figures in state government and Statehouse politics.” He has his B.A. and M.P.A. from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania as well as a J.D. from the Delaware Law School at Widener University. Mr. Weaver can be found on Twitter @MarkRWeaver, where he shares his take on his numerous areas of expertise, including media law, crisis communications, and politics.

During our discussion, Mr. Weaver shared background on his career, what it’s like to work in campaign consulting and his thoughts on an upcoming GOP presidential debate.

Watch the full conversation below or by visiting the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics YouTube channel.

 

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Democratic Debate Recap

Last night the 5 democratic presidential candidates debated in Las Vegas, Nevada with CNN and Facebook sponsoring this event.

Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton was center stage with the Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to her left, the former Mayor of Baltimore Martin O’Malley to her right, and Senator Jim Webb and Governor Lincoln Chafee at the ends of the stage.
Clinton made it a point to target the NRA and say that Americans need to stand up to them and go with what the majority of the country wants on gun control. The topic of the email scandal of course came up and Clinton admitted that she did make a mistake and she has and will continue to answer all questions about the topic. She made it a point to target the Republican lead committee who has been seen in the media saying that their goal is to drive her polls down. When confronted by Governor Chafee and given the opportunity to respond, she simply said no. This can be looked at as not taking the Governor as a serious candidate or she’s tired of talking about. The highlight of this topic was when Senator Sanders chimed in and said, “American’s are tired of hearing about your damn emails! It is time we about the real issues facing America”. This line stole the show and got the loudest applause from the audience throughout the whole debate.

Sanders proved to be the most liberal on most issues except gun control where Clinton certainly is further left on that issue. O’Malley proved to the be the furthest left when it comes to climate change and the energy crisis in this country as he laid out a plan to have America be 100% clean electrical grid by 2050. Chafee struggled to stand out when talking about issues as did Webb. Talking of the economy, Sanders views on regulating Wall Street, campaign finance, the struggling middle class, and raising the minimum wage resonated well with the audience and the middle class. Clinton made the statement that when “Democrats are in the White House the economy does better” and how her plan is much tougher on the big banks and we must deal with the area called “Shadow Banking”. O’Malley aligned himself with a lot of what Sanders stated and showed how he implanted them in the state of Maryland while he was governor. His main difference was that he wants to separate the casino, mega banks from the commercial banking and reinstate Glass-Stegall.

Overall, Webb found it very hard to stand out during the debate as he had very little time to talk and when he did talk it almost sounded like he used the same block statements about his military experience and being in the pentagon to answer most questions. Chafee did stand out more than Webb but also did not gain too much traction. O’Malley showed the country that he is a real candidate with real ideas that can move this country in the direction the democratic party wants it to go. However, Clinton and Sanders stole the show. They were the focus of the debate and were certainly the loudest. Although Clinton was simply the best debater on the stage and out-performed her opponents, Sanders was the clear winner of the debate not only by listening to the applause form the audience when he spoke but every single poll that followed the debate showed Sanders as the clear winner with a margin between 60% to 75% of the people voting in those polls for Sanders. Regardless, the debate will not change polls on who will win the nomination as there were no surprises at this debate. The democratic party as a whole will benefit more than these individual candidates as they all banned together against the republicans and lead a strategic attack on the party as a whole together. The attack points on the Republicans were much stronger than any the Republicans have used against the Democrats.

David J. Matheny

Any opinions and views aforementioned are entirely my own and not associated with the Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics