Dayton Daily News to host virtual events to inform voters about candidates, issues

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In the coming weeks, the Dayton Daily News is hosting three virtual events aimed at helping voters make informed decisions during the November election.

“We at the Dayton Daily News believe it is our duty to help you make informed voting decisions and to keep watch over the voting process,” Editor Jim Bebbington said. “That’s something we’ve always done, and something we’re committed to doing again this year.”

Dayton Daily News staff and community members will host the events, which will be live on the newspaper’s Facebook page. The events include two candidate forums and a community conversation about voting security.

Here’s more about the events:

  • Candidate forum: Bebbington and Reporter Eric Schwartzberg hosted a candidate forum at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 1 with Republican state Rep. Niraj Antani and Democratic challenger Mark Fogel. They are running for the Ohio 6th Senatorial District.
  • Candidate forum: Dayton Daily News Reporter Chris Stewart and Susan Hesselgesser, executive director of the League of Women Voters, will host a candidate forum at 12:30 p.m. Oct. 2 for the Montgomery County Commission race. Incumbent Democrats Judy Dodge and Debbie Lieberman, and Republican Bob Matthews will participate. Lieberman is running against Matthews. Dodge is running against Republican Arlene Setzer, who declined to participate in the forum.
  • Community Conversation: Community Impact Editor Amelia Robinson and Dayton Daily News Statehouse Bureau Reporter Laura Bischoff will host a Community Conversation at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 6 titled, “Will your vote count?” The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way many people will cast ballots in November. Panelists will include: Jan Kelly, director of Montgomery County Board of Elections; Merle Madrid, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s chief of staff; Jen Miller, executive director of League of Women Voters of Ohio and Derrek Foward, president of the NAACP Dayton unit.

“The candidate forums are so important and we appreciate the candidates who are joining us for these nontraditional, virtual events,” Bebbington said. “We’ll be fielding questions from our readers during the sessions, and we hope they help our readers make their best choices in the upcoming election.”

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