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Chief Justice Moyer: One of a kind
On the side...
Clicking for dollars: For the first time, the Mahoning County Democratic Party is raising money for candidates through the Internet. The party sent e-mails seeking contributions for its endorsed candidates. The party’s Web site is mahoningcountydems.org.
Precinct wars: A group of Mahoning Democratic Party officials, including Chairman David Betras, is also using the Web to help get a group of more than 100 precinct committee candidates elected. The candidates are listed at democrats2010.org.
Democrats 2010 are running radio ads urging voters to support the committee candidates in their precincts.
Meanwhile, Mark Hanni has sent letters to various precinct committee candidates, including Betras and his supporters, urging them to not re-elect the party chairman. Hanni writes that he wants to support someone for chairman who has “integrity and strong leadership ability.”
I was truly saddened when I heard about the death last week of Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer.
During my time as The Vindicator’s politics writer, I had the opportunity to interview the judge on a number of occasions.
When asked, he was very open about judicial issues and other justices on the Supreme Court.
It’s been my experience that the least interesting “political” interviews are with judges.
The chief justice was an exception.
I first interviewed Justice Moyer in December 2000, about three months after I was named the newspaper’s politics writer.
Justice Moyer was in Boardman to swear in four Mahoning County Court judges in a ceremony he said would help heal wounds inflicted in recent years by corrupt judges and attorneys.
“Mahoning County has had far more than its fair share and more than any other county,” he said about corrupt judges and lawyers. “I really don’t know why...Had every judge in Mahoning County lived by the oath of office, you wouldn’t have the problems you’ve had here.”
‘Character’
Justice Moyer added: “It sounds simple, but it all comes down to the character of the person.”
Character played a key role in two other interviews I conducted with Justice Moyer.
The first was in November 2002, about a week after then-Lt. Gov. Maureen O’Connor was elected to the Supreme Court.
Justice Moyer said he initially had questions about her ability to serve on the court.
“I wondered about her path,” he said. “She’s been a judge, a prosecutor and an administrator, and now she wants to go back to being a judge.”
She was also very critical of the Supreme Court for being anti-business, and said her presence would completely change the court’s philosophy. Some would say she was correct about the change in the court’s philosophy.
Justice Moyer said after the two had a discussion he was convinced Justice O’Connor was capable of handling the job.
“I expect she’ll be a hard worker,” he said.
[An interesting twist is Justice O’Connor is running for chief justice this year. Because of age restrictions, Justice Moyer couldn’t seek re-election.]
The second interview was in March 2007 at an Ohio Associated Press political seminar in Columbus.
A month earlier, Justice Terrence O’Donnell gave a very partisan speech at a Republican dinner in Niles.
Justice Moyer knew exactly what I was going to ask before the words came out of my mouth.
The chief justice said he’d read the article, held a private meeting with Justice O’Donnell, and told me: “He did it once, and I guess we won’t see it again.”
It’s also doubtful we’ll see a chief justice like Thomas Moyer again.