KENT − Only a few candidates showed up Saturday for a candidate forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Kent .
The group, along with several other area organizations, played host to the Face2Face forum, which brought candidates and voters together at United Methodist Church of Kent. Seven candidates sat at tables with voters, answering questions. Two unopposed candidates also gave brief presentations and were on hand to answer questions afterward.
The forum took place exactly a month before the Nov. 5 general election. Early voting began Tuesday at boards of elections in the State of Ohio.
Portage County voters will be deciding between candidates for U.S. Congress, the Ohio Legislature, and countywide offices such as commissioner, clerk of courts, sheriff and treasurer.
Candidates for all those races, plus five people who are unopposed locally, were invited to Saturday's event.
Only three Republicans took part in the forum. Heidi Workman, who is running against Nathaniel Adams for state representative in the 72nd District; Brian Ames, running for clerk of courts against incumbent clerk Jill Fankhauser; and Sabrina Christian-Bennett, who is running unopposed for county commissioner, were on hand.
On the Democratic side, Adams and Fankhauser were present, as were Carmen Laudato, who is running for an open seat on the board of commissioners against Jill Crawford; Jon Barber, who is running for sheriff against incumbent Republican Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski; and John Kennedy, the appointed county treasurer facing opposition to keep his seat from former Ravenna mayor Joe Bica, a Republican.
Although Zuchowski wasn't present, other candidates mentioned him.
Zuchowski has drawn national attention for a now-deleted Facebook post encouraged people to write down addresses of homes that have signs in support of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, to keep a list of places to send illegal immigrants, whom he referred to as "locusts."
The sheriff hasn't responded to repeated requests for media interviews, but posted on both his personal and campaign Facebook pages that he's been "misrepresented" in news coverage and that his comments were protected by the First Amendment.
He also appeared on Fox News amid the controversy to defend his comments and to discuss the border crisis with an Arizona sheriff.
Zuchowski told Fox News he's been asked by people what he would do if "30,000 or more illegals" came to Portage County, similar, he said, to what's happening in Springfield, Ohio.
"At that point, I'm not going to do anything illegal as the sheriff," he told Fox News. "After all reasonable things have been taken care of as far as what we can do with the people, I simply made a comment to some people on my personal Facebook page that we need to remember where these signs were because when there's nowhere else to put these people, I look at it as a welcome mat for people who supported her..."
At Saturday's forum, Barber said there's a need to restore trust in the sheriff's department. Later, when a resident at a roundtable discussion asked how he'd go about doing that, he said at community events like Saturday's forum.
"We've got to go out and have conversations with the community," he said. He also talked about the need to restore collaboration with area police agencies, and increase police presence in neighborhoods to deter crime.
He said Zuchowski's words have frightened immigrants, including people who are in the United States legally to study at Kent State University.
Reporter Diane Smith can be reached at 330-298-1139 or dsmith@recordpub.com.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Few Republicans attend League of Women Voters forum in Kent
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