Ideastream Public Media has launched a new podcast to follow in-depth the political campaigns of the seven candidates looking to succeed Frank Jackson as mayor of Cleveland.
Every Wednesday a new episode of the podcast, "After Jackson: Cleveland's Next Mayor" will be released. The podcast will follow the field of seven up to the September primary that will whittle the field down to two and then continue on through to the general election in November.
Those podcast episodes will be presented on The Sound of Ideas on Wednesdays. The podcast is hosted by Ideastream Public Media Senior Reporter Nick Castele.
Last week we began hearing one-on-one interviews with candidates Justin Bibb and Dennis Kucinich. Today's episode continues those interviews where we will hear from City Councilman Basheer Jones and later State Senator Sandra Williams.
Mayor Frank Jackson announced earlier this year that he will retire at the end of this his fourth term.
The full field of candidates are as follows (listed alphabetically):
- Justin Bibb, an executive at an urban technology nonprofit
- Ross DiBello, an attorney
- Cleveland Ward 7 Councilman Basheer Jones
- Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley
- Dennis Kucinich, the former congressman and former Cleveland mayor
- Former Ward 2 Councilman Zack Reed, who unsuccessfully challenged Jackson in 2017
- State Senator Sandra Williams
The non-partisan mayoral primary will take place on September 14. The general election is November 2.
You can subscribe and follow the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or NPR One.
What issues do the mayoral candidates need to pay attention to? What are the city's most pressing needs? And if you could ask a question of the candidates, what would that question be? That’s where you come in.
Ideastream Public Media and the City Club of Cleveland are planning mayoral forums in August with the help of the more than two dozen media outlets who form the Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism collaborative. The questions for the candidates will come directly from you. Please let us know what you believe the candidates need to address. And please let us know what specific question you'd like to have answered.
Submit your questions for the mayoral forums.
You can use the above link or click in the related stories section below to submit your question suggestions.
As always, we also welcome input during The Sound of Ideas, so please call, text, email or Tweet your suggestions.
Nick Castele, Senior Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Basheer Jones, Cleveland City Council, Candidate for Mayor
Nick Castele, Senior Reporter, Ideastream Public Media
Sandra Williams, State Senator, Candidate for Mayor
