When voters in the Bedford City School District elected members of the Board of Education in 2017, many of those people had to take it upon themselves to find out information about the candidates. While the Walton Hills Citizens League held a candidate forum, the other three municipalities that comprise the school district had no voter-education events. That won’t be the situation this year if current plans for a district-wide candidate forum are successful.
At the Board of Education meeting on July 11, representatives of the League of Women Voters of Greater Cleveland, Roz Peters and Patricia Carter, announced plans for their group to operate a voter forum for Board of Education candidates running in the fall election.
Members of the school board expressed their support for this voter education activity. The date and location of the forum have not yet been announced, but the forum is likely to be held in late September or early October. A location in a school facility is might be possible, since the school district brings together the communities of Bedford, Bedford Heights, Oakwood, and Walton Hills.
As identified in their mission statement, “The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.”
Bedford resident Bill Lavezzi has helped to spear-head the effort to get this forum started. Lavezzi ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Board of Education in 2016 and participated in several voter forums in the million-resident OBE District 11. He said that during that experience, he found that the League of Women Voters takes voter education seriously and runs their forums with professionalism and integrity.
In 2017, four candidates ran for three openings on the Board of Education; two positions on the Board of Education will be filled in November. Just who the candidates will be is uncertain: the deadline for candidate petitions in nonpartisan races such as Board of Education and some municipal positions is Wednesday, August 7. (For specific information, residents may contact the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections at 216-443-3231, or go to their website at boe.cuyahogacounty.us.)
