Judge Trapp to seek seat on Ohio Supreme Court

SPECIAL TO THE VINDICATOR

COLUMBUS — The presiding judge of Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals has announced her intentions to seek a seat on the state’s top court next year.

Judge Mary Jane Trapp, from Novelty in Geauga County, is the first Democrat to enter the race. She will seek the seat held by Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger.

Trapp announced her candidacy during a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse while standing next to Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern.

“I join their commitment in achieving balance on the Ohio Supreme Court, where seven Republicans and not one Democrat serve,” she said.

Trapp is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and received her law degree from Case Western Reserve University.

She was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1981 and worked for more than 25 years in civil and criminal trial and appellate practice. She was elected to the 11th District Court in 2006.

Trapp will run as a Democrat in the primary and has the backing of the state party. However, after the primary, judicial races become strictly nonpartisan affairs, with no party labels used on the ballot.