Candidates make pitches at CHIP forum

Tackling Ohio’s opioid crisis, diversity and improving the local economy were the topics that dominated a forum hosted by the Coalition of Hispanic/Latino Issues and Progress.

Local candidates seeking office in county, state and federal races in the run up to the May 8 primary election made their pitches to voters on April 18 at Lorain High School.

In the race for state Senate District 13,

candidates discussed jobs and priorities in moving Ohio forward.

Huron resident Ryan R. Sawyer, a Republican, wants to prioritize jobs and creating more opportunities through education as a way to tackle the opioid crisis.

“The biggest thing is education and safety,” he said. “We have a drug problem. We all know there’s a drug problem out there and what we’ve got to do. We can address the problem but the people that are affected by those drug problems, we’ve got to be able to give them assistance, give them something to look up to, give them jobs.

“Because without the jobs they have no security and once we are able to give them some security and give them a hand up I think we’ll be able to turn that epidemic around with better education and better job opportunities.”

Nathan Manning, who has served two terms in the Ohio House as the District 55 representative, said that if elected to the state Senate he would continue to listen and respond to the priorities of Lorain County in addressing jobs and the opioid crisis.

The Republican called for 500,000 private sector jobs and cutting Lorain’s county’s unemployment rate down to 5 percent and $180 million in new funding across the state to fight the epidemic, including $1 million for Lorain County.

“We need more detox centers. Jails and ERs are not detox centers. So we need to do more in that regard,” Manning said. “And I think we’re heading in the right direction but there’s always more we can do.”

He underscored the fact

that he broke with his party in opposing House Bill 70, which brought Lorain City Schools under state control and added it’s important to be able to look at both sides of an issue.

“I’m willing to stand up and do what’s right for the district,” he said.

Democrat Sharon Sweda said there will be a greater need for investment and jobs.

“We need to explore alternative sources of education and we need to make sure every child has an adequate education,” Sweda said. “We need to make education affordable for those who seek it. We need to regain the control of the educational process to our cities where it’s been lost. And we need to make sure we’re creating a healthier environment and not just treating the opioid crisis, but also making certain that our citizens have access to affordable healthcare.”

Four candidates running for Lorain Common Pleas Domestic Relations Court judge debated the role for interpreters in the local court system and diversity among staff.

Incumbent Lisa Swenski, who has served on the court for the past five years, said she handles the role of interpreters on a case-by-case basis, adding they come at a heavy cost to the county.

“We have one certified interpreter and we have taken all the steps we can possibly take,” the Democrat said. “We looked at the numbers as to whether we could support another full-time interpreter and the court administration determined we could not. So we have the interpreters come in when we have them. We try to block schedule any cases that require interpreters.

“They come in sometimes from Geneva, from Columbus, and that is a heavy cost to the county because of included

travel time.”

Charlita Anderson-White, a magistrate for the past 19 years, echoed the importance or erring on the side of caution.

“One of the court’s missions is to collaborate with the community,” said Anderson-White, also a Democrat. “This is a very large community of Spanish-speaking people, almost per capita the size of the Spanish-speaking community in Manhattan. So I think it is kind of a cop out to say that we can’t find the money. We collaborate and that is the most important part of being part of the court system and being a judge.

“It’s making sure you look outside of the community without accessing taxpayer dollars to find the funds and find the collaboration and make sure we find the interpreters that we need,” she continued. “We can do that and we don’t have to make the excuse that we can’t find the money. We can use grant resources and money from the state to make sure we don’t violate citizen’s rights. We do justice in that building.”

Attorneys Jack Bradley and Michael Duff are also Democrats and seeking election in the race.

Candidates for races in U.S. Congressional races (Districts 4 and 9) and Ohio House District 56 were also in attendance along with representatives for Lorain County Issue 4 and Lorain County Issue 5.

The forum was moderated by CHIP Conference co-Directors Alisha Pardon and Carmen Leibas along with Lorain High School senior Carlos Diaz.

Lorain City Schools recorded the event and, along with Lorain County Community College, will broadcast the forum on their respective networks prior to the May 8 primary.