ICYMI: Republican Ohio Supreme Court candidates hide from tough questions, refuse editorial board interviews

ICYMI: Republican Ohio Supreme Court candidates hide from tough questions, refuse editorial board interviews

September 4, 2024

Plain Dealer editorial board calls out Republican candidates for hiding from tough questions, endorses Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart, and Judge Lisa Forbes

Columbus, OH - In case you missed it, the Plain Dealer editorial board exposed how Republican Supreme Court candidates have refused to participate in editorial board interviews, hiding from tough questions about their records and judicial beliefs. The editorial board also announced their endorsements of Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart, and Judge Lisa Forbes.

"Joe Deters, Megan Shanahan, and Dan Hawkins are extreme politicians who have no place on the Ohio Supreme Court. Instead of a Supreme Court that believe in independence and upholding the constitution, these candidates are running to push their own agenda - one that would uphold restrictions on abortion and reproductive care that Ohio voters have already rejected. It's no surprise they're hiding from tough questions." said Ohio Democratic Party spokeswoman Katie Seewer. "Justice Michael Donnelly, Justice Melody Stewart, and Judge Lisa Forbes are committed to fairness and impartiality and will always protect our rights and freedoms as part of a new majority on the court."

Plain Dealer Editorial Board: Why are some Ohio judicial candidates ducking opportunities to make their case to peers and the public? Editorial Board Roundtable
[8/31/24]

• This time, Cameron Sagester, the executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, informed our editorial board by email that none of the three Republicans running for Ohio Supreme Court would participate in endorsement interviews. And none did.

• Apart from a Federalist Society endorsement event earlier this year at which all six Ohio Supreme Court candidates - Republican and Democratic - showed up, nothing is yet definitively scheduled where the public will be able to hear directly from all of the Ohio Supreme Court candidates head-to-head. We hope that changes.

• Ted Diadiun, columnist: The GOP's "strategic" decision to duck endorsement interviews is something that should embarrass all Republicans and offend all voters. Particularly in the judiciary, these interviews are often the only chance citizens have to inform their votes outside of yard signs and partisan mailers. Failing to participate displays weakness and cowardice.

• Lisa Garvin, editorial board member: That the Ohio GOP declined our endorsement interviews on behalf of its Supreme Court candidates is disappointing. Perhaps they believe having party designations on the ballot means an easy victory. Even so, it's arrogant and offensive to deny voters the opportunity to hear candidates debate the issues with each other.

• Victor Ruiz, editorial board member: Only providing superficial information, such as party affiliation and a familiar surname, underestimates the intelligence of voters. Citizens deserve judges who are transparent, impartial, and fair. Tactics like these are none of those and contribute to voter disengagement and skepticism about the legitimacy of our justice system.
  

Plain Dealer Editorial Board: Melody J. Stewart for Ohio Supreme Court in the Jan. 2 term
[9/1/24]

• In 2022, Gov. Mike DeWine named Deters, then Hamilton County's prosecuting attorney, to a mid-term Supreme Court vacancy, although Deters had not served as a judge before. This year, rather than run for the two years remaining in that seat's term, Deters chose to challenge Stewart for her seat. Such a contest between two associate Ohio justices is believed to be unprecedented.

• Stewart, reared by a single mother in Hough and the first African American woman elected to Ohio's highest court, has served with distinction. She notes that of the court's seven incumbents, she has the most appellate experience -12 years on the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals followed by nearly six on the high court.

• Ohio voters should re-elect Justice Melody J. Stewart to the Ohio Supreme Court on which she has so capably served. Early voting in the Nov. 5 election begins Oct. 8.

Plain Dealer Editorial Board: Michael P. Donnelly for Ohio Supreme Court, Jan. 1 term
[9/1/24]

• Michael P. Donnelly has been a prosecutor, a criminal defense lawyer, and was a trial court judge for 14 years. He is now finishing up his sixth year as an associate justice of Ohio's highest court, seeking re-election to another six-year term. That range of experiences helps explain his passion about judicial reforms to address what he calls "preposterous disparities in sentences" and "needless delays" at the trial-court level. Beyond that, Donnelly, 57, increasingly worries "politicization of the judiciary" is undermining public confidence in our system of laws.

• We greatly regret not hearing from Shanahan directly, but Donnelly's sharp mind, breadth of legal knowledge and powerful sense of justice make this an easy call. Voters should re-elect Justice Michael P. Donnelly to the Ohio Supreme Court in the term beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

Plain Dealer Editorial Board: Lisa Forbes for Ohio Supreme Court in the unexpired term ending Dec. 31, 2026

[9/4/24]

• Forbes, whose mantra is that the Supreme Court must be a "firewall protecting our democracy and the rule of law that is fair, balanced and independent," met the political issue head-on in an interview with the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

• "It is the job of a judge to apply the law where it is clear and interpret the law where there is an ambiguity," she said. "It doesn't have anything to do with party. It doesn't have anything to do with any affiliation as to how anyone got elected. And so, it shouldn't have any bearing whatsoever on how a judge does her job."

• As we said in our endorsement before Forbes won the Democratic primary, it is hard to imagine a more prepared candidate than Forbes, whose thoughtful approach and varied experience shows through her every statement.

• "We should have independent jurists who aren't beholden to anyone," she said. "I proclaim to be fair. I proclaim to be careful. I proclaim to be intellectually honest."

• We concur. Lisa Forbes would make an outstanding Supreme Court justice, and Ohio voters should put her on the court Nov. 5. Early voting starts Oct. 8.

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