Franklin County judge seeks Supreme Court seat of Justice O’Connor

Another Democratic judge announces run for state Supreme Court seat.

COLUMBUS — A central Ohio judge has announced his candidacy for chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, taking on Republican Maureen O’Connor.

Judge Eric Brown, currently serving in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, has the backing of Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern.

“Regular, hard-working Ohioans deserve a voice at the helm of the Ohio Supreme Court, and I will be that voice,” he said during a press conference in Columbus on Tuesday.

He added later, “Throughout my career of more than 30 years of practicing law and serving the public, I’ve developed a keen understanding of how law and courts impact the everyday lives of Ohioans.”

All seven Supreme Court justices are Republicans, including O’Connor, who received more votes in the November 2008 election than any other candidate on the ballot, including President Barack Obama.

But Strickland said he personally asked Brown to run for chief justice to help bring balance to the court.

Brown has served in the Franklin County court’s probate division for more than a year and was part of the general division for about four years before that.

He was an assistant attorney general from 1992 to 2002 and led that office’s tobacco-lawsuit efforts, including work on the $10 billion-plus tobacco settlement.

Brown and his wife, Marilyn, a Franklin County commissioner who had a brief run last year for secretary of state, have two children and two grandchildren.

Brown is the second Democrat running for Supreme Court; 11th District Court of Appeals Judge Mary Jane Trapp is seeking the seat held by Justice Judith Ann Lanzinger.

Both Brown and Trapp will run as Democrats in the primary. However, judicial races become strictly nonpartisan affairs thereafter, with no party labels used on the ballot.