Leigh Anne Lawrence, director of Leadership Clark County, said the format will be the same as the primary debate held in February, with questions being submitted ahead of time and candidates having time allotted to answer. The event is not open to audience Q&A, but there will be a meet-and-greet from 5:30 to 6 p.m. where the community can speak with candidates.
The debate will start at 6 p.m. and there will be another mix-and-mingle period from 7:30 to 8.
Lawrence said at the primary debate earlier this year there were about 85 attendees. She expects more this time around.
Early in-person voting will take place from Oct. 8 through Nov. 3. Absentee ballots will be accepted starting Oct. 8 and must be postmarked by Nov. 4 to be counted.
Who is running?
One county commission seat will be vacant when Commissioner Lowell McGlothin steps down at the end of his term. Former Springfield City Commissioner and Democrat Kevin O’Neill will face retired Health Commissioner Charlie Patterson.
Credit: Jessica Orozco
Credit: Jessica Orozco
One other county commission seat is up next year. Incumbent Commissioner Melanie Flax Wilt, a Republican, has filed to run for her current seat unopposed.
Incumbent Clark County Sheriff Deborah Burchett was defeated in March by former Maj. Chris Clark, who also serves as the Madison Twp. Fire and EMS chief, in the Republican primary. There is no Democrat candidate.
The Springfield-Clark Career Technology Center in November will also ask voters for a third time to approve a school construction issue they twice previously rejected. The 1.4-mill levy would fund the local cost to build a nearly $90 million new facility with the state contributing 62% of the base $63 million building cost.
For the statehouse, the Ohio Senate 10th District, State Representative 71st District and State Representative 74th District are up for grabs.
Republican Kyle Koehler, a former Ohio representative, will face Democrat Daniel McGregor to replace Sen. Bob Hackett in the 10th Senate district. Hackett does not live in the newly redrawn 10th district.
For the 71st State Representative District, Republican Levi Dean, the son of current Rep. Bill Dean, who is not running for re-election, will face Democrat Krista Magaw.
Incumbent Republican Bernie Willis will face Democrat Derek Alvarado for the State Representative 74th district seat.
The candidate event is free and open to the public. Anyone who wishes to attend should RSVP at https://bit.ly/LCCdebate2024.
The debate will be livestreamed on Leadership Clark County’s Facebook page and on Springfield’s Channel 5.
For more information, email info@leadershipclarkcounty.org.
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