CLEVELAND — Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson had nothing to say Tuesday about Monday’s news that the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University will host the first 2020 presidential debate on Sept. 29th on the Clinic’s medical campus within the city's borders.
Though demonstrations continue in some cities over police brutality and President Trump, Jackson's office declined to say whether City Hall is preparing for protesters that might be drawn to the debate.
3News asked City Hall when it knew about the Clinic’s offer to host the debate and about the city’s plans to manage potential demonstrations. City Hall declined to answer questions, saying only that it was aware the Commission on Presidential Debates picked Cleveland before the announcement was made public.
“The City of Cleveland was informed that Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University were looking to host the first presidential debate and received confirmation of the selection prior to the announcement,” City Hall said in a statement to 3News. “While we were informed, we were not a part of the planning process and refer all requests regarding the details to both the Clinic and CWRU.” (City Hall's response was received after this segment was taped for broadcast.)
Cleveland Clinic CEO and President Tom Mihaljevic recently made the pitch to host the first presidential debate after the University of Notre Dame pulled out over concerns about the pandemic, Dr. James Merlino, the Clinic’s Chief Clinical Transformation Officer, told 3News Tuesday.
Merlino said Mihaljevic knew Notre Dame was pulling out because the commission had retained Cleveland Clinic earlier this year to serve as its health security advisor for all of the fall’s debates.
Merlino is the Clinic’s point person on the debate, which will be held on the Health Education Campus, a joint project between the Clinic and Case Western Reserve University. It opened in 2019 and features the 477,000-square-foot Samson Pavilion. Students from the university’s schools of medicine, nursing and dental medicine use the facility. Case Western Reserve University is co-hosting the debate.
Merlino said that despite having only two months to prepare, he’s confident both institutions can pull it off.
“This partnership between CWRU and the Cleveland Clinic has done things like this before,” he said. “I think you will recall in 21 days we were able to convert the Health Education Campus to a 1,000-bed COVID hospital in the short period of time, so we have experience doing things quickly. So we are excited about the opportunity.”
He referred questions about security and costs to the commission, which didn’t respond to questions from 3News by deadline.
CWRU hosted a vice presidential debate on its campus in 2004, which cost more than $4 million, though sponsors and the commission contributed money to the event, which attracted 1,500 members of the media.
But this year’s debate comes with challenges unimaginable 16 years ago: A pandemic and national protests, some of which have turned violent. In presidential visits to the city, Cleveland police typically help provide security and escorts for the president’s motorcade, among other security-related measures.
Stan Gerson, interim dean for the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, said the school sees this as an educational opportunity for its students -- and the viewing public. He said hosting the debate also helps frame the presidential race around health care and battling the pandemic.
About potential protests, he said, “The mood of the country at the end of September as it relates to protesters is an anxiety for all of us and we are not sure where the mood will be in two months.”