YOUNGSTOWN — People can hear from the four Youngstown mayoral candidates on the podcast “Spanning the Need” starting Sunday.

Candidates for Youngstown mayor participating in the series are Democrats Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Ryan Kelly and Julius Oliver, and Republican Tracey Winbush.

Brown is nearing the end of his first term. He was elected in November 2017.

Oliver is the 1st Ward Councilman and a frequent critic of Brown. Kelly is the owner of the Belleria Pizza and Italian Restaurant in Columbiana and has no political experience.

Winbush resigned from the Mahoning County Board of Elections once her candidacy was certified. She will automatically move on to the general election because no other Republicans filed for the seat.

May 3 is the deadline to file as an independent. That’s a day before the Democratic primary.

The schedule for the podcasts is: Sunday, Brown; Kelly, April 4; Oliver, April 11; and Winbush, April 18. All start at 7 p.m. The broadcasts will be on Spanning the Need’s YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/anthonyvspano) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/AnthonyVSpano) channels.

The four candidates will provide information about themselves and have an opportunity to outline their platforms and answer questions. The speaker series will cover a variety of topics from the economy, challenges facing the city and violence in our communities, just to name a few.

The podcast is moderated by Anthony Spano and is part of the Mayoral Candidate Speaker Series presented by Sherman Creative.

“It is important to the community and the residents of the city of Youngstown to hear the issues and what is important for the next four years,” said Stephanie Shapiro, managing partner of Sherman Creative. “That is why we felt compelled to be a part of this mayoral speaker series.:

“I have always thought it was important for us all to make informed decisions when we elect someone to represent our best interests,” Spano said. “That is why we decided to do the mayoral candidate speaker series so that the residents of the city of Youngstown can make informed decisions based on the candidates’ responses.”

More information can be found at www.AnthonyVSpano.com.

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