Dems outline positions in races for 2 justices' seats

The four candidates are battling to take on two Republicans in the fall.
BY JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A Northeast Ohio appellate judge is taking on a Montgomery County trial judge in the Democratic primary race for one Supreme Court seat up for grabs this year.
Meanwhile, a Cleveland-area juvenile judge is battling a former minority leader of the state Senate for the Democratic Party nod for another high court seat.
Winners of the May 2 primary advance to the November general election.
In one race, 11th District Appeals Court Judge William O'Neill faces Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge A.J. Wagner in the Democratic primary.
In the other race, Ben Espy, a former state Senate Democratic leader, faces Cuyahoga County Juvenile Judge Peter M. Sikora.
The winners of the Democratic primary will face incumbent GOP Justice Terrence O'Donnell of Rocky River and Republican 3rd District Appeals Court Judge Robert R. Cupp of Lima, respectively, in November.
The court has seven members with staggered terms of six years.
Both O'Donnell and Cupp are unopposed in the Republican primary.
Will take no contributions
O'Neill has said he will accept no campaign contributions in his current bid for the high court.
O'Neill, who sits on the Warren-based 11th District appeals court, is vowing to produce 1 million pieces of literature on a printing press and distribute them. O'Neill ran for the high court in 2004, losing to O'Donnell.
O'Neill has been a judge since 1997.
O'Neill, of Chagrin Falls, has served as an assistant state attorney general and as an attorney in private practice.
He is also a registered nurse.
Wagner says he's been a strong and committed advocate for children and families.
Wagner, of Dayton, has been a common pleas judge since 2000 and served as Montgomery County auditor from 1991 to 2000.
Before that, Wagner was an attorney in private practice.
Wagner said he wants to bring balance back to a high court, which is controlled 6 to 1 by Republicans.
"I believe the court has begun to legislate rather than stick within the bounds of jurisprudence," Wagner said.
O'Neill and Wagner are vying in the Democratic primary for the seat currently held by O'Donnell.
Touts legal experience
Despite no experience as a judge, Espy said he believes his accomplishments in a legal career spanning more than 30 years merit election to the state's highest court.
Espy, of Columbus, said he also believes restoring balance to the court is necessary.
"When the justices deliberate, it's important to have another viewpoint in the room," Espy said in an interview.
A private attorney, Espy was a state senator from Columbus from 1992 to 2002, serving as the Senate's top Democrat from 1996 to 2000. Espy served as assistant minority leader from 1994 to 1996.
Espy also served on the Columbus City Council from 1982 to 1992.
Espy's legal experience includes his own private practice. Espy served in the state attorney general's office from 1972 to 1977 including time as the deputy chief of the civil rights division and chief of the division of criminal activities.
Espy has also served as an assistant judge advocate in the U.S. Air Force and as assistant director of corporate law for Allegheny Airlines in Washington, D.C.
Decries GOP domination
Sikora has also attacked GOP domination of state government.
"I want to serve on the Supreme Court to help rescue Ohio from the culture of corruption that has engulfed much of our state government and to protect the rights of Ohio's working men and women and their families," Sikora said in a statement.
Sikora, of Cleveland, has been a juvenile division judge since 1989. He ran unsuccessfully for the Ohio Supreme Court in 1996.
Before going to the bench, Sikora was deputy director and general counsel for the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities; deputy legal counsel to former Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste and a law clerk to the late Judge Jack Grant Day of the 8th District Court of Appeals.
Espy and Sikora are vying for the Democratic nomination to the seat currently held by Democratic Justice Alice Robie Resnick of Toledo, who is retiring.
Wagner and Espy have been endorsed by the Ohio Democratic Party.
O'Donnell, of Rocky River, was appointed to the high court in 2003 and was elected to finish the last two years of an unexpired six-year term in 2004.
Cupp served in the state Senate for 16 years before being forced from the chamber by term limits in 2001.