OHIO | Attorney general and Supreme Court justices

Three candidates are running for attorney general. In the two Supreme Court justice races, two candidates are running in each. An (*) denotes incumbents.

ATTORNEY GENERAL

RICHARD CORDRAY (D)

Age: 49.

Address: 340 E. Fulton St., Grove City.

Employment: Ohio treasurer.

Education: A law degree from the University of Chicago in 1986; a master’s degree in economics from Oxford University; a bachelor’s degree in political theory from Michigan State University.

Family: Wife, Peggy; two children, Danny and Holly.

Priority: To protect the financial security of Ohioans through many measures. First, fully supporting federal, state and local law enforcement officials in pursuing individuals that prey on Ohioans. Focusing efforts on Medicaid fraud and predatory lending, and continue to help fight foreclosures in the state. Creating a level playing field for Ohioans and their small businesses, so that they have the support they need to continue to grow.

MIKE CRITES (R)

Age: 60.

Address: 309 Whetstone Drive, East Powell.

Employment: Managing partner of the Rich, Crites & Dittmer law firm.

Education: A law degree from the Ohio Northern College of Law in 1978; a bachelor’s degree in 1970 from the Naval Academy.

Family: Wife, Maureen; three daughters, Shannon, Allison and Amanda.

Priority: To restore the integrity of and the public’s trust in the office of the Ohio attorney general by focusing all of my energies over the next two years to this goal, not looking toward higher office. Implement policy initiatives including the creation of an ad hoc committee to streamline all of the current investigation into the office and the creation of a Public Corruption Commission that will ensure the events that led us to this point will never again occur in Ohio.

ROBERT M. OWENS

Age: 35.

Address: 82 W. Central Ave., Delaware.

Employment: A private attorney practice.

Education: A law degree from Capital University Law School; studied history and politics at Oxford University; a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Family: Wife, Teri.

Priority: My top priority is restoring integrity to the office of attorney gneral, so that the state serves the people of Ohio and not vice versa. This will be accomplished by increasing transparency and bringing fundamental change to the system, including elimination of no-bid contracts. Other priorities include expansion of law enforcement training through Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy and expansion of resources dedicated to Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation crime lab.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (Term beginning Jan. 1, 2009)

MAUREEN O’CONNOR*

Age: 57.

Address: 2700 Colchester Road, Cleveland Heights.

Employment: Supreme Court justice.

Education: A law degree in 1980 from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law; took classes toward a master’s degree at the State University of New York at Binghamton; bachelor of history degree in 1973 from Seton Hall College.

Family: Two sons, Alex and Ed.

Priority: To focus on efforts to improve the public’s knowledge of the Supreme Court. Also reviewing the recommendations in the report on the state’s compliance with the American Bar Association’s death penalty review and the recommendations from the forthcoming judicial recusal and conflict of interest study.

JOSEPH D. RUSSO

Age: 46.

Address: 3340 Bradford Road, Cleveland Heights.

Employment: A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge.

Education: A law degree and a bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University.

Family: Wife, Diana; a daughter, Gabriella; a son, Joe.

Priority: To invigorate a debate about the future of the Ohio judiciary and a concern about the perceptions of impropriety involving campaign contributions to judicial candidates. Implementing a comprehensive plan to automatically disqualify justices deciding cases involving campaign donors.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE (Term beginning Jan. 2, 2009)

EVELYN L. STRATTON*

Age: 55.

Address: 28 W. Stafford Ave., Worthington.

Employment: Supreme Court justice.

Education: A law degree from The Ohio State University College of Law in 1978; a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Akron in 1976; an associate degree from the University of Florida in 1974.

Family: Husband, John A. Lundberg III; two sons, Luke and Tyler.

Priority: There is a major problem with the lack of mental health services available to offenders in the criminal justice system because their illnesses have not been addressed. To continue establishing mental health dockets and other reforms in this area at both the state and national levels. To address the availability of legal resources for those unable to afford an attorney.

PETER M. SIKORA

Age: 57.

Address: 10710 Edgewater Drive, Cleveland.

Employment: Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court judge. .

Education: A law degree from Case Western Reserve University of Law; a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace College; an associate degree from Cuyahoga Community College.

Family: Single.

Priority: To restore balance to the court. To modernize the court and encourage the creation of unified family courts in each county and promote programs and policies to encourage the adoption of children in need of “forever families.” To protect freedoms and serve with integrity, fairness and impartiality, and treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve.