Gubernatorial candidates agree to OHNO-sponsored debates

Columbus Dispatch

COLUMBUS

The two major-party Ohio gubernatorial candidates have agreed to two televised debates hosted by the state’s eight-largest newspapers comprising the Ohio Newspaper Organization.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Republican challenger John Kasich of Genoa Township will debate Sept. 14 in Columbus and Oct. 7 in Toledo.

The one-hour debates will be televised by the local TV partners of The Columbus Dispatch and The Blade of Toledo, as well as by ONN, the statewide cable news network.

A panel of four newspaper reporters will pose questions at each debate, and each debate will be moderated by a reporter from WBNS-Channel 10 in Columbus and WTOL-Channel 11 in Toledo. The specific locations in each city have yet to be determined.

The two former congressmen both acknowledge the state budget is headed for a multibillion-dollar problem, but neither has offered specific solutions.

The Ohio Newspaper Organization newspapers are: The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Dayton Daily News, The Blade of Toldeo, Akron Beacon Journal, The Repository in Canton , The Dispatch and The Vindicator.