Democratic presidential candidates coming to Pittsburgh for education forum

At least six Democratic presidential hopefuls plan to attend a nationally televised education forum in Downtown Pittsburgh next weekend, the event’s organizers said Monday.

Confirmed candidates include Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer. Two more candidates are considering attending the forum, said Suzanne South of One Pennsylvania, one of about a dozen advocacy and union groups that make up the coalition organizing it.

The all-day Dec. 14 event at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will not be a debate in which the candidates share a stage, South said.

Instead, preselected parents, teachers, education activists and community members will pose questions to the candidates one by one. A pair of MSNBC journalists will moderate.

Nina Esposito-Visgitis, president of the teachers union for Pittsburgh Public Schools, said in a statement that participants “won’t shy away from asking tough, fair, probing questions.”

The event nearly was scheduled to happen elsewhere.

“We fought really hard to make sure that at the national level people get to see Western Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh schools as a meaningful opportunity to lift up these conversations,” South said. “It was a very tight choice. We thought Boston or Chicago were going to get to do this forum, but the coalition was excited to lift up the educational justice work happening here in Pittsburgh.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that candidates are eager to win over Western Pennsylvania, particularly in the suburbs surrounding Pittsburgh where President Donald Trump claimed victory in 2016.

“Pennsylvania obviously has an opportunity in general to impact the presidential race much more than other states right now,” South said.

Roughly 1,000 people are expected to attend the event, called Public Education Forum 2020. Registration is nearly filled and the event will not be open to the public, South said. Members of the organizing groups may be able to get a seat by inquiring with their specific organization.

The organizing coalition includes One Pennsylvania, the American and Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Alliance for Educational Justice, Center for Popular Democracy, Action Journey for Justice Alliance, NAACP, National Education Association, Network for Public Education Action, Schott Foundation for Public Education and the Service Employees International Union.

Note: This story was updated to reflect Kamala Harris suspending her presidential bid Tuesday.