Profiles — Issue 1 debate Wednesday with Justice O'Connor, Bertram, others

Ohio Issue 1 is a controversial constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that will come front and center on vindy.com Wednesday morning when The Vindicator hosts proponents and opponents in a live debate, including Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor.

You can watch the debate live as it happens on vindy.com in what is an Ohio exclusive this election season.

Vindicator Editorial Page Editor Bertram deSouza is hosting and organizing the event. Here are four guests:

PRO ISSUE 1

• Shakyra Diaz is managing director, Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice responsible for building membership nationally, organizing, community building and coordinating efforts with the Alliance for Safety and Justice. She is a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and lives in Cleveland with her family.

• Stephen JohnsonGrove is deputy director for policy at the Ohio Justice & Policy Center. He has been part of several campaigns to draft and ultimately push through legislation to remove barriers for people with criminal records and to make the justice system more just. He was part of the team that wrote Issue 1 and is on the board for the Issue 1 campaign.”

AGAINST ISSUE 1

• Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor is the 10th chief justice and the first woman to lead Ohio’s judicial branch.

Since assuming the state’s highest judicial office in 2011, Chief Justice O’Connor has led significant reforms in the Ohio judicial system, including improved access to justice. Born in the nation's capital and raised in the Cleveland area, O'Connor's service career spans more than three decades and includes service as a private lawyer, magistrate, common pleas court judge, prosecutor.

• Mahoning County Judge John Durkin has served as a judge since 1997. He's a Valley native and a graduate of University of Dayton.