Wednesday, October 30, 2002
All four candidates denounced the third-party advertisements on television.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- Ohio Supreme Court candidates Tim Black and Maureen O'Connor dueled Tuesday, with Black touting his judicial experience and O'Connor saying she's the candidate with experience with felony-level trials.
Black, a Hamilton County municipal judge and the Democratic candidate for justice, repeatedly touted his nine years as a judge in what he said was the busiest court in the state.
& quot;We want our Supreme Court justices to be judges, not politicians, & quot; Black said during a forum sponsored by the Ohio News Network and the League of Women Voters. & quot;I'm an experienced judge. & quot;
Black was making a veiled reference to O'Connor, his opponent in the Nov. 5 general election and the Republican lieutenant governor who in the past has been a Summit County common pleas judge and Summit County prosecutor.
O'Connor said she was proud of her public service.
& quot;I've had a series of jobs that have allowed me to remain in public service, & quot; the lieutenant governor said in the forum held at the Statehouse and televised live.
In addition, O'Connor took a shot at Black saying the municipal judge was a jurist in a relatively low legal setting.
& quot;In my race against Tim Black, I am the only person who's been a judge and had ... trials, felony trials, felony jury trials that involve serious criminal issues and I feel that is one of the strengths ... that I will bring to the Supreme Court. & quot;
Seeking seat
Black and O'Connor are vying for the seat of retiring Justice Andrew Douglas, while incumbent Republican Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton is being challenged by Democratic candidate Janet Burnside, a Cuyahoga County common pleas judge.
Stratton touted her six years as an appellate-level judge and her leadership in the areas of adoption reform and court security as reasons she deserves a second six-year term on the high court.
Burnside said her greatest strength is that she came from an Ohio farm to serve on the state's largest trial court.
& quot;I'm proud of the hard work and the scholarship it has taken me to get there, & quot; Burnside said.
All four candidates roundly denounced the third-party advertisements that have appeared on television.
So-called & quot;issue advocacy & quot; groups have been airing ads in favor of various candidates.
Behind independent ads
For example, two groups -- Informed Citizens of Ohio and Citizens for a Strong Ohio, have been airing ads supporting Stratton's re-election. Citizens for a Strong Ohio is aligned with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Citizens for an Independent Court, a group affiliated with trial lawyers and labor unions, have been promoting Burnside and Black and attacking Stratton.
& quot;I've denounced each and every one of the independent ads, & quot; Black said. & quot;I want people to focus on what the candidates themselves are saying. & quot;
O'Connor agreed. & quot;I find the practice that we have all witnessed on the airwaves as deplorable, & quot; she said.
& quot;I think they take the message off who the candidate is and what the candidate stands for, & quot; Stratton said. & quot;In the last two weeks, there have been attempts at character assassination that comes from a special interest group that I hope the public simply won't buy and won't believe. & quot;
Stratton was likely referring to ads by Citizens for an Independent Court.
The ad purports to tell the story of a man who contracted potentially fatal chronic beryllium disease while working for an Ohio chemical company.
Years after the diagnosis, the man says in ad, he filed suit against his employer, alleging the company made him sick, and implies that it mistreated him
A female narrator says: & quot;Eve Stratton sided with the big chemical company. We need justices who protect people, not corporations.''
The man concludes the ad by saying, & quot;We need Tim Black and Janet Burnside. 'Cause they're on our side.''
& quot;I'm no fan of these ads, either, & quot; added Burnside. & quot;The people who support me have been sleazy and lying about Justice Stratton and I've opposed that. & quot;
One statewide poll has the Stratton-Burnside matchup as a close contest.
The same statewide poll has O'Connor leading Black.