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A Cuyahoga County judge is seeking a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court
YOUNGSTOWN
Judge John P. O’Donnell of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court says he has “a broader range of experience than” Ohio Supreme Court Justice Judith L. French, whom he will challenge in the November general election.
Though Judge O’Donnell already is endorsed by the Ohio Democratic Party for the race, he made a formal announcement of his candidacy Thursday in Cleveland and later came to Youngstown for an interview with The Vindicator.
He will challenge Justice French, a Republican appointed Jan. 1, 2013, by Gov. John Kasich to an unexpired term on the state’s highest court.
“My belief is I will bring a different set of experience and perspective to the court than Justice French,” said Judge O’Donnell of Lakewood. “I think I’m a better fit.”
He said Justice French — who was raised in Sebring and now resides in Grandview Heights — went straight from being Gov. Bob Taft’s chief legal counsel to the 10th District Court of Appeals before her appointment last year to the Supreme Court.
Judge O’Donnell first was elected in 2002 to a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judicial seat for a two-year unexpired term. He lost the Democratic primary for that seat in 2004 but won an open position in 2006 and was re-elected in 2012.
In addition to criminal trials, he’s one of eight judges in the state who preside over a commercial docket devoted to business litigation. He’s handled 2,000 of those cases since February 2009.
“Justice French is an independent jurist who follows the rule of law,” said Chris Schrimpf, Ohio Republican Party spokesman. “She has served all Ohioans well on Ohio’s Supreme Court, and before being a justice, served as an appeals-court judge and also has successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court. Judi believes that her role as a justice is to fairly and clearly interpret the law, and she’s proud of her record.”
Judge O’Donnell acknowledges that some voters may confuse him with Justice Terrence O’Donnell, a former Cuyahoga County judge who’s been on the Supreme Court bench since May 19, 2003.
There’s also Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, and Justices William O’Neill and Sharon Kennedy. The latter two beat incumbents in the 2012 election.
“If [my last name] helps me, I’ll be glad to take it,” Judge O’Donnell said. “I don’t offer an opinion on why people vote the way they do. Having said that, I’m not blind. I see that there’s an O’Connor, an O’Donnell, an O’Neill and a Kennedy on the court as it’s currently constituted. ... It may indicate a certain level of voter comfort with a familiar sounding name.”
He added: “I’m a qualified candidate who might get the benefit of that. And I don’t necessarily look at that as taking advantage of anything. It would be different if I was not at all qualified or capable, and simply trying to confuse voters, which I’m not doing.”
State Rep. Tom Letson of Warren, D-64th, is challenging Justice Kennedy in the November general election.
The seven-member court’s lone Democrat is Justice O’Neill.