Candidates line up for seat on appeals court

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
WARREN -- There is no shortage of candidates interested in replacing Judge Judith Christley, who will not seek re-election next year to her seat on the 11th District Court of Appeals.
Judge Christley said she wants to get off the bench while she's still young enough to enjoy retirement. Judge Christley, of Williamsfield Township, near Andover, has been an appellate court judge since 1986. Her term expires Feb. 9, 2005.
In an unusual move last year, Judge Christley, a Republican in the middle of her term, challenged Judge William O'Neill, a Democrat who was running for re-election in the 11th District Court. She lost.
Judge Christley also was on the list of finalists for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court earlier this year that went to Terrence O'Donnell of Cuyahoga County.
The judge said she doesn't plan to run for a judicial seat again. In her retirement, she will focus on her family farm and teaching at Hiram College, where she has worked for the past 12 years.
The judge said she's received telephone calls from Republican officials in Columbus asking her to retire early so Gov. Bob Taft could appoint a fellow Republican to fill her spot, thus giving that person an advantage by being a sitting incumbent running for election next year.
"I told them to make me an offer that's better than what I have for the next year and I'll consider it," she said. "So far, I haven't received one."
Who plans to run
Raymond J. Tisone, a four-term Howland school board member who has a law practice in Warren, will file his nominating petitions Tuesday to run for the six-year seat as a Democrat.
Tisone, 56, has practiced law for 31 years, specializing in wrongful discharge, sex and age discrimination and personal-injury cases.
"The court of appeals is not a place for ideologues," Tisone said. "It's a place for people who will take a straight-forward look at the law, and that is what I will do."
Another Democrat, Mary Jane Trapp, a Geauga County attorney, plans to run in the March 2, 2004, primary.
The filing deadline for the Democratic and Republican primaries is Jan. 2.
On the Republican side, Paul Brickner, a federal law administrator from Lake County, is planning on running. Also, Judge Richard James of Trumbull County Domestic Juvenile Court is considering a run but hasn't made a final decision, said Craig Bonar, Trumbull Republican chairman.
The 11th District, based in Warren, serves Trumbull, Lake, Portage, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.
There are three Democrats and two Republicans on the bench.
Judge O'Neill is planning on running next year for the Supreme Court seat currently held by Justice O'Donnell.
skolnick@vindy.com