In two 11th District judge races, Cannon, Rice are clear choices

In low-profile yet high-caliber appeals-court elections, the quantity of experience in office gains added value in measuring the quality of candidates.

Unlike other high-visibility public offices such as mayor, state representative or county commissioner, appeals court judges neither actively thrust themselves into the public spotlight nor play any role in crafting public policy. Rather, the bulk of their work takes place behind closed doors where they use their legal expertise, knowledge of applicable case law, superlative writing talents and, yes, experience as sitting judges in evaluating whether lower trial courts have erred in judgments that could require convictions and sentences to be amended or overturned.

Given the overriding importance of that criterion, residents in the 11th District Court of Appeals have easy choices in this fall’s election of two judges to serve six-year terms that begin in February 2015. Those well-experienced judges are Timothy Cannon of Painesville, who has 34 years of legal experience and eight years of service on the Warren-based court that encompasses Trumbull, Ashtabula, Geauga, Portage and Lake counties. Incumbent Judge Cynthia Rice has 12 years of service on the court and 25 years of legal experience.

The Vindicator endorses the candidacies of Cannon and Rice without hesitation.

CANNON FOR 2/9 TERM

In the race for the Feb. 9, 2015, appellate court term, Cannon faces a challenge from Atty. Ron Tamburrino, chairman of the Trumbull Township Board of Trustees in Ashtabula County and a 25-year employee in the legal department of the Sherwin Williams Co. He touts his experience trying cases in lower trial courts, Ohio appeals courts, the Ohio Supreme Court, federal agencies, bankruptcy courts, U.S. District courts, U.S. courts of appeals and even the U.S. Supreme Court.

As judge, Republican Tamburrino says he would be a strict constructionist of the U.S. Constitution, “to conservatively defend the very pillar of freedom” of our government. He has earned a “pre-eminent rating” from the The Martindale-HubbellPeer Review Ratings that judge a lawyer’s ethical standards and professional ability.

Tamburrino, though likely a strong lawyer, has not demonstrated similar expertise on the bench. In contrast, Democrat Cannon has served as the presiding/administrative judge on the appeals court for four years. He has issued more than 500 opinions and has voted on more than 1,000 rulings.

In those years, he has worked to improve caseload handling, reducing the time spent toward decisions from four months to two months. He’s also overseen improvements in budgetary efficiencies, resulting in a $100,000 surplus in the court’s budget each of the past three years. Cannon also has been a staunch advocate of technological improvements in the court to improve case management and currently is working on implementing electronic filing of cases to reduce paperwork, time and expense. Voters would be remiss to not give Cannon the opportunity to continue his stellar record of service.

RICE FOR 2/10 TERM

In the race for the 11th District appellate judgeship for the Feb. 10 term, Rice, a Democrat from Brookfield, clearly emerges as the superior candidate over Atty. Geoffrey Weaver, a Republican from Kirtland.

Weaver has held no public offices during his 20-year legal career. His top priorities include more timely issuance of decisions and updates in court technology, which are precisely two of the principal initiatives that Cannon and Rice have been actively working to improve.

Weaver also argues that the court needs a more independent and objective perspective to the court but fails to make a solid case that the court’s current leadership lacks those perspectives and traits. Unlike Rice and the vast majority of other candidates for this and other judicial offices who do not express personal views on public policy issues, Weaver said he believes the two major issues in this appellate election are pro-life support and Second Amendment gun rights.

Such subjective airing of personal beliefs for a job that demands the highest standards of objectivity is troubling as it can make a voter wonder whether Weaver would be completely impartial in cases that deal with those two hot topics on his personal radar.

In contrast, Rice took no position on major issues of the day when she met with members of The Vindicator editorial board. For judicial candidates, we believe such silence is golden.

Rice also stands out as the stronger candidate because of her measurable track record. She has authored more than 1,000 opinions and helped to decide more than 3,000 cases. She has served as a visiting judge on the Ohio Supreme Court and has been actively involved in statewide committees dealing with appellate court procedures and security in courthouses.

She, like Cannon, has been working to improve caseload speed and management and to introduce electronic case filing. In sum, she and Cannon make for a dynamic duo on the bench, and both merit widespread voter support.