October 13: Ohio Supreme Court Judicial Candidates Forum
This one-hour virtual forum will be recorded live-to-tape on Friday, October 9, and made available for viewing and broadcast across the state beginning Tuesday, October 13 at 10:00am. Karen Kasler and Curtis Jackson are the moderators and all four candidates will be participating. Please check our website at ohiodebatecommission.org later this week or early next week when we will publish a “where to watch and listen” guide for how to view the forum. In addition, it will be available on our website for viewing beginning on October 13.
While Ohio Supreme Court races are not as high profile as the gubernatorial or U.S. Senate races, we recognize the Court plays an important role in evaluating constitutional questions and issues of significant public interest here in Ohio. In a poll we commissioned earlier this year with Baldwin Wallace, nearly three-quarters of Ohio voters surveyed indicated they thought it would be useful to listen to or watch a program with the state Supreme Court candidates. We hope you will consider making this information about the forum available to your membership so that they can view it during this election cycle.
In case you are not familiar with the Ohio Debate Commission, it was established in 2018 to organize and facilitate statewide debates and forums. In 2018, the ODC hosted a gubernatorial debate and a U.S. Senate debate. At our website, you can read more about our work, see past programs, who supports us, and who is on our board.
October 19: The City Club of Cleveland Forum, Balance of Play: The Future of the Supreme Court of Ohio (program listed here)
Normally, judicial races do not receive much attention from the media or the public. However, the high-profile confirmation hearings of U.S. Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanagh – and the impending nomination of a justice to replace the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsberg – have highlighted the critical role judges and the courts play in our democracy. The Ohio Supreme Court race is considered by many to be a crucial statewide race on the Ohio ballot. How will the election affect Ohioans and the outcome of the cases facing the Court next year, including the redrawing of legislative maps? What did we learn from the ODC event about the candidates and how they might decide cases?
Join us as three distinguished retired judges who served as an advisory panel to the Ohio Debate Commission – Justice Yvette McGee Brown, Justice Judith Lanzinger and Judge Ronald Adrine – analyze the ODC Ohio Supreme Court Judicial Candidates Forum and discuss the future of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
The livestream will be available beginning at 12:30 p.m. Have questions? Tweet them at @TheCityClub or send a text to 330.541.5794.