Analysis of Cleveland Mayoral Candidates Debate

Last night, the seven candidates running to replace Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson took the stage at the Westfield Studio Theatre at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square for the first of two debates coordinated by Ideastream Pubilc Media and The City Club of Cleveland. The 90-minute event was moderated by Ideastream Public Media's Rick Jackson. 

All of the candidates participated: Nonprofit executive Justin Bibb, attorney Ross DiBello, Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones, Council President Kevin Kelley, former mayor and former U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, former Councilman Zach Reed, and State Sneator Sandra Williams.

All of the questions came directly from members of the community, who videotaped themselves asking their question. Topics for last night's debate were racial equity, public safety, housing, transpancy in goverment and health equity. Next week we'll tackle jobs and the ecomony, the environment and education.

On the Sound of Ideas we'll dig into the debate with Nick Castele, who is covering the race for Ideastream Public Media, Report For America Fellow Conor Morris, who attended the debate here last night, and Cait Kennedy, a PhD candidate at Cleveland State University who is closely following the race as her research involves mayoral elections.

But first, each Wednesday we bring you the latest episode of Nick's  After Jackson podcast. He'll recap the week on the campaign trail, one that involved a front page Plain Dealer endorsement for one candidate and, in the same piece, a forceful repudiation of another. Nick also provides a nice recap of last night's debate, which will prime the pump for our conversation later. Pluse, he digs into an important decision the next mayor will make regarding public safety: Who will be the next leader of the Cleveland Division of Police. Will it still be the current chief, Calvin Williams?

-Cait Kennedy, PhD Candidate, Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University & Executive Director & Co-Founder, unBail
-Conor Morris, Report for America Corps Member, Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative
-Nick Castele, Senior Reporter & Host, "After Jackson" Podcast, Ideastream Public Media