Trapp gets another chance to claim 11th District seat

Mary Jane Trapp out-distanced her opponent by a large margin for the appellate seat.
WARREN -- Democrat Mary Jane Trapp will square off against Republican Paul Brickner to replace long-time Judge Donald R. Ford Sr. on the 11th District Court of Appeals here.
The court's jurisdiction is Trumbull, Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga and Portage counties.
With the retirement of Judge Ford, of Warren, two Democrats and three Republicans sought to replace him for the term beginning Feb. 9, 2007.
Unofficial results show Trapp, of Russell, with 43,458. Albert L. Purola of Willoughby received 16,943 votes.
For the term beginning Feb. 10, 2007, incumbent Judge Diane V. Grendell of Chesterland ran unopposed for re-election on the Republican slate, receiving 23,599 votes, and Thomas E. Harris of Conneaut was unopposed on the Democratic side and garnered 50,683 votes.
Candidates' background
Trapp, 49, is a managing partner of the law firm of Apicella & amp; Trapp, Cleveland, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the seat in 2004.
Trapp was president of the Ohio Bar Association in 2001 and 2002. She has said she believes that, as a judge, she can correct mistakes that may have occurred at the trial level.
Brickner, 65, received 10,140 votes to Dorothy Henry Lee's 8,830 and Jack H. Black, 6,333 votes.
Brickner has served more than 20 years as an administrative law judge in Cleveland and Falls Church, Va. He has served as an acting judge at the municipal and juvenile court levels. As a colonel, he served as an appellate judge for seven years with the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.