Welcome

Welcome to my campaign for chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. I appreciate your interest and hope that by visiting this site often during the campaign you will learn more about me, my reasons for running to be chief justice and keep up to date with the campaign news.

In 2002, the voters of Ohio first elected me to serve as a justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. It is truly an honor to hold this position. In 2008 I was reelected and am proud to have carried all of Ohio’s 88 counties, to have received the most votes of any candidate for the court in a contested election in the history of Ohio and to have received the most votes of any candidate on the 2008 ballot…including Barack Obama. I am honored that Ohio voters trust me to serve on Ohio’s highest court. I come to the court with experience as a lawyer, magistrate, prosecutor, common pleas court judge, and as lieutenant governor and director of Ohio’s Department of Public Safety. I am proud to have earned the public’s trust in every position that I have held in the past twenty-five years. I am also proud of the fact that I have improved and strengthened every office that I have held and believe those skills are the mark of a true public servant. I pledge to continue that tradition.

I believe that this election will focus on three issues: leadership, my record and experience. I have been a leader on the court both in the courtroom and in written opinions. My record demonstrates that I have strong administrative experience. I have managed a county prosecuting attorneys office of 300+ as well as the Ohio Department of Public Safety, a state agency of four thousand employees.

As a justice, I have listened to the parties who have argued before the court, read and interpreted the law, and independently applied the law to the facts of each case. I recognize that the decisions of the Ohio Supreme Court affect all of Ohio’s citizens, businesses, and courts. I firmly believe that we must adhere to legal precedent and instill stability and predictability in the law. I also believe that it is critically important that our justices must decide cases in a fair and unbiased manner. I promise to continue to uphold the oath of my office.

I respectfully ask for your continued support and for your vote on November 2, 2010.