The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

The Ohio Debate Commission (ODC) organized a virtual event moderated by journalists featuring four candidates vying for two Ohio Supreme Court seats: Justice Sharon Kennedy and challenger John P. O'Donnell, a judge on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, and incumbent Justice Judith French and challenger Jennifer Brunner, a judge on the 10th District Court of Appeals and former Ohio Secretary of State. Multiple media outlets across the state will air that event prior to Election Day or it can be watched online here.\r\n\r\nNormally, 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 Judge Amy Coney Barrett 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?\r\n\r\nJoin us as three distinguished retired judges analyze the ODC event and discuss the future of the Supreme Court of Ohio.

As in past iterations of growth and development, U.S. cities are driven by technological innovation. Now that the digital era is here, what can Cleveland do to seize the opportunities presented by new technologies to create a more inclusive and resilient city for our diverse population, which in turn will attract the innovative businesses and citizens we want to draw here?\r\n\r\nAs the City of Cleveland and the Urban Land Institute plan for a 21st Century City Symposium, to be held in March, 2021, Adie Tomer, Fellow at the Brookings Institution, will kick off the discussion with a focus on the best practices that will allow cities to maximize their future prosperity. After Mr. Tomer's remarks, he and Freddy L. Collier, Jr., Director of Planning for the City of Cleveland, will discuss some current initiatives nationally and in Cleveland.

Historically, the United States has one of the lowest rates of youth voter turnout in the world. For Americans under 30-years-old, the voter turnout rate is nearly 38 percentage points below the rate of eligible voters older than 60.\r\n\r\nThis disparity isn\'t necessarily for lack of enthusiasm or interest. In fact, teens have regularly made headlines during the current presidential voting cycle for their activism and continued interest and investment in politics. This enthusiam was also evidenced by the support base of former presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders. Sanders, an Independent turned Democrat, regularly boasts a base of potential voters who heavily skewed young. However, each time election day rolls around, turnout is dismal once again.\r\n\r\nHow the gap between enthusiastic youth and lasting political involvement and change be bridged?\r\n\r\nStudies have shown closing the gap could be made possible by simplifying the means by which eligible people can vote, or even automatic voter registration. Potentially lowering the voting age is a possible solution gaining national traction, with the goal to lead to an increase in interest in politics for America\'s upcoming generation.\r\n\r\nJoin us for a City Club Youth Forum discussion on the impact of youth political activism and the influence of their vote.

Over the last few months, our nation\'s educators have been forced to be in a constant state of revaluating of practices to ensure all children can continue to thrive in distance-learning. Much of this shift requires the education community to consider equity as a facet of student success, as systemic racism, cultural backgrounds, and income level has massive impacts on behavior, academics, and social development. Megan R. Holmes, Ph.D. and Habeebah R. Grimes, M.A., Psy.S., LSPSY, discuss mental health in education.

Join us for the chance to hear from congressional candidates vying for seats in Ohio\'s 9th, 11th, 14th, and 16th districts. Incumbents in these races have declined to participate.\r\nThe forum will be divided into four 20 minute segments. Each candidate will speak for up to 10 minutes and then answer audience questions for the remaining time.\r\nRob Weber, Republican Candidate, District 9\r\nLaverne Gore, Republican Candidate, District 11 \r\nHillary O\'Connor Mueri, Democratic Candidate, District 14\r\nAaron Godfrey, Democratic Candidate, District 16

In October 2020, the world will mark the 20th anniversary of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, which addressed the importance of women's political participation for sustainable peace, among other issues.\r\n\r\nThis anniversary comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to upend lives around the globe. For women, these affects are especially acute. In countries both industrialized and developed, women are facing multiple threats - physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological - and even worse in situations of conflict and humanitarian crises; and job loss and economic instability. Complicating matters is the fact that women often have little to no advocates when it comes to making crucial decisions that affect their lives -- women make up only 10 percent of national leaders.\r\n\r\nWhat is the situation for women globally? And how has it impacted women's political leadership? What will women\'s political demands be worldwide as we cautiously move into a "new normal?\" Will anything change?

Dr. Eric Foner, educator, historian, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author, is often regarded as the "dean of Reconstruction historians." Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, Dr. Foner has used his career as a scholar to construct a more truthful narrative of the Civil War and Reconstruction. This year Dr. Foner was named the 2020 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award honoree for Lifetime Achievement for most recent book, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution. Join us at the City Club as he discusses his book.

The November ballot will contain two proposed levy measures: Issue 68, a 15-mill levy renewal with a 5-mill increase for Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD), and Issue 70, a permanent 1-mill tax increase to support the Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL).\r\n\r\nThe CMSD levy will cover operating expenses for 10 years. Supporters say that approval would help CMSD continue progress made under The Cleveland Plan and pay for needs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Voters first passed the levy in 2012 and renewed it four years ago, both times by comfortable margins. If the levy is not renewed, the current one will expire in December and result in cuts to staff and programs.\r\n\r\nCCPL\'s tax increase would add to the continuing 2.5 mill levy that funds 70 percent of the library's operations. Supporters point to CCPL\'s ranking as America's top-rated library system for the last 10 years by Library Journal. Additionally, they note that CCPL has the lowest millage of any of the nine county libraries. If the levy fails, CCPL plans to reduce hours, defer maintenance, and eliminate other services.\r\n\r\nWhile there is no organized opposition to either levy, it should be noted that the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) chose not to support the current CCPL levy request because it is permanent. It does support the CMSD levy.\r\n\r\nJoin us as leaders from both organizations explain the respective levies and what their passage or failure would mean for staff, constituents, and the community.

Sandra Williams is a Democratic member of the Ohio Senate, serving the 21st district--which includes the eastern two-thirds of Cleveland, as well as the east-side suburbs of Bratenahl, Cleveland Heights, Garfield Heights, Newburgh Heights, Shaker Heights, and University Heights--since 2015.\r\n\r\nSenator Williams has spent more than two decades in public service--as a corrections officer, probation and parole officer, mediator for the State of Ohio, legislative aide, and State Representative for District 11. Previously, she was the Vice Chairwoman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and adjunct professor at Cleveland State University. Senator Williams also served our country as a member of the United States Army Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1995.

A hotbed of technological innovation, the very term "Silicon Valley" was born out of a need to describe the quickly growing tech industry out in California. Author Margaret O'Mara's book, The Code, is the result of years' worth of research into the history of Silicon Valley. She investigates how the history of tech and America's political history are deliberately intertwined. Join us at the City Club for a virtual City Club forum as O'Mara shares the forces behind the rise of Silicon Valley.