Coalition for Hispanic/Latino Issues and Progress hosts candidates event

LORAIN — The Coalition for Hispanic/Latino Issues and Progress hosted its annual candidates forum on Wednesday. The biannual event, hosted ahead of the primary and general elections each year, sees candidates in contested races in Lorain, and representatives on city and county issues give information on their platforms. Sheriff Jack Hall spoke in support of Issue 1, a proposed increase to the county's sales tax by 0.25 percent to fund Sheriff's Office operations. The issue would raise about $14 million per year for the Sheriff's Office. Those funds would not be used to build a new jail, he said, it will only take the burden off the county's general fund to cover operations costs – including those at the county jail. Lorain Schools Superintendent Jeff Graham spoke to the district's two renewal levies, Issues 21 and 22 on the November ballot. Issue 21 is a continuous, 23.82-mill renewal of a group of levies first passed in the 1990s. It generates about $11 million per year for the district. Issue 22 is a 10-year, 3.22-mill renewal of an emergency operating levy that generates about $3.1 million annually. The two levies combined cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $451 per year. The district already "accounted for" $10 million from its budget, Graham said, through budget and staff cuts and other reductions, but it has also recently lost state and federal funding and anticipates losing about $1 million per year from the County Commissioners' doubling of the homestead and owner-occupancy credits starting in 2026. "We've got some growing to do and decisions to make, but without these levies, it will be catastrophic," he said. The two men running to represent a portion of South Lorain were the first to answer questions from CHIP's moderators. Candidates for City Council's 6th Ward, incumbent Democrat Angel Arroyo and Republican challenger Aaron Knapp, saw the city's finances take center stage during their brief debate. Like its local school district, Lorain city's finances are in a precarious position. During a Finance and Claims Committee meeting Monday evening, Auditor Joseph Koziura predicted the city's budget would stay in the black through 2026, but feared a fiscal shortfall in the years after that. Knapp, who has been a critic of the city's current elected officials, said he had written his own budget proposal that would cut spending on administrative staff. He alleged the city spends "like 80 percent" of its budget on administrative staff and questioned what they do for residents "besides try to throw us in jail or deny records requests." The bulk of Lorain's budget is personnel, but it includes police, fire and other city employees, not just "administrative staff." Arroyo, who previously served on Council from 2016 to 2019 and is currently finishing the unexpired term of fellow Democrat Antonio Baez, who stepped down earlier this year, said the city is fighting an uphill battle and must figure out how to balance a budget and continue to promote the community. When asked about undocumented workers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers' actions in other major cities, both men agreed ICE agents do not have the right to detain citizens or persecute individuals based on their race or culture. For the first time in CHIP's recent history, the evening's forum included a race for candidates outside of the city. Farah Emeka and Richard Ramsey, running for Oberlin Municipal Court Judge, answered questions from the group on a judge's role in ensuring a defendant has a competent legal defense, cultural competency in the workplace and how to handle ethical dilemmas within the courtroom. Discussing what a judge's role is if they realize a defense attorney is exceedingly unprepared to represent their client in a case, Ramsey said it was an example of why judges have private chambers. He said a judge's primary responsibility is to protect the constitutional rights of everyone involved in a case and if it became apparent an attorney was unprepared, there would have to be a conversation to require that attorney to make themselves competent or withdraw from the case. Emeka agreed. She said the court should inquire during pre-trials to ensure all parties are prepared to move forward in a case, but if the issue becomes a problem a judge can offer a continuance — which would give an attorney more time to prepare — appoint another attorney to the defense or declare a mistrial. Both candidates agreed cultural competency among court staff was important, especially in terms of language barriers and making the court accessible to the community. When asked to describe a professional ethical dilemma they had faced, Emeka said most recently an issue had come up during her time as president of the Oberlin School Board when one of the district's vacant buildings had been allegedly vandalized by a person who she knew personally. As the city's chief prosecutor, she had to ask for a special prosecutor to step in and handle the case. Ramsey said when he became a practicing lawyer, he served as a court-appointed defense attorney at times and once he was elected Amherst Treasurer, he was unable to accept cases coming out of the city. Candidates for Lorain's Clerk of Courts and school board also answered questions. The full forum is available on Lorain Schools TV20 Youtube page. And will appear on Spectrum tv at 4 a.m., 8 a.m., 12 p.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m., and 12 a.m. Thursday and Friday. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.