Governor candidate interviews to be live-streamed from Akron

Associated Press

AKRON

A politics institute will conduct a series of interviews with Ohio’s six major gubernatorial candidates that will be live-streamed.

The University of Akron’s Bliss Institute for Applied Politics says the in-depth interviews are designed to give residents information they can use ahead of the May 8 primary.

The series kicks off Tuesday and runs through April 11, the day after early voting opens.

Tom Beres, retired senior political correspondent for WKYC-TV, will conduct interviews with four Democrats and two Republicans. The interviews will go beyond “10-second sound bites or the food fight of a debate,” Beres said.

He said he will ask candidates their positions on key issues, including guns, education, the economy and fighting the opioid epidemic.

Gerald Austin, director of the university’s International Campaign Fellows Program, spearheaded the event. He said the interviews will be live-streamed and archived on the university’s YouTube channel, the Institute’s Facebook page and WKYC’s website .

The schedule is:

Democrat Joe Schiavoni, April 3, 10-11 a.m.

Republican Mary Taylor, April 5, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Democrat William O’Neill, April 5, 3-4 p.m.

Democrat Dennis Kucinich, April 6, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Republican Mike DeWine, April 11, 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Democrat Richard Cordray, April 11, 4-5 p.m.