Ohio mayor candidates ditch debate over lawsuit

MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio city’s four candidates for mayor are boycotting a debate sponsored by a tea party group suing the local school district.

In a joint statement, Mansfield’s mayor, his Democratic primary challenger and two Republican candidates said Sunday that the lawsuit filed by the Mansfield North Central Ohio Tea Party Association puts an unnecessary financial burden on the schools.

The association has claimed its civil rights were violated when the Mansfield school district changed its mind last month about allowing the group to hold an event on school grounds featuring a speaker some activists described as anti-Islamic. The schools superintendent said he was concerned about safety.

Tea Party Association founder Bonnie Oleksa tells the Mansfield News Journal the candidates dropped out of tonight’s scheduled debate out of political correctness.