When it comes to races for judge, it often can be difficult to gauge what a candidate might believe because they’re generally barred from speaking during campaigns about subjects that could come up before them in court.

Campaigns, rather, tend to focus generally on the management of the court including budgets and programs that are administered.

I provided the Ohio Bar Association’s recommendations of candidates for Ohio Supreme Court last week.

With that said, the Lake County and Geauga County bar associations recently released results of endorsement or poll results for state and local judge races.

The rankings show a reflection of how the judicial candidates fared among their peers in each county. But for the public, it’s up to each voter to learn more about the candidates and decide for themselves when it comes time to vote. The following is merely for informational purposes and doesn’t imply endorsement by The News-Herald.

Lake County Bar Association

The Association announced its endorsements for judicial candidates who will appear on Nov. 6 ballots in Lake County. An opinion was only expressed if a candidate received a yes or no vote as to the qualifications of the office on more than 50 percent of the ballots.

Receiving an endorsement of highly recommended were Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Cupp; Lake County Common Pleas Court Judges Richard L. Collins, Vincent A. Culotta, Eugene A. Lucci; and 11th District Court of Appeals Court Judge Mary Jane Trapp.

Candidates who received an endorsement of recommended were Ohio Supreme Court Justices Yvette McGee Brown, Terrence O’Donnell and William O’Neill; and 11th District Court of Appeals Judge Diane V. Grendell,

The Bar Association gave an endorsement of not recommended for Colleen Mary O’Toole, candidate for 11th District Court of Appeals. It expressed no opinion for Ohio Supreme Court candidates Sharon L. Kennedy and Mike Skindell.

Geauga County Bar Association

The Association released results of a poll in which 106 members responded regarding Nov. 6 judicial candidates appearing on the Geauga County ballot. The Association does not make endorsements, rather it releases the poll results.

Ohio Supreme Court: Skindell received the following votes: 11 highly recommended, 23 recommended, 16 not recommended, 56 no opinion; O’Donnell received 31 highly recommended, 28 recommended, 22 not recommended, 25 no opinion; O’Neill received 31 highly recommended, 29 recommended, 36 not recommended, 10 no opinion; Cupp received 21 highly recommended, 37 recommended, 12 not recommended, 36 no opinion; Brown received 20 highly recommended, 20 recommended, 14 not recommended, 52 no opinion; Kennedy received 8 highly recommended, 16 recommended, 21 not recommended, 61 no opinion.

11th District Court of Appeals: Trapp received 88 highly recommended, 13 recommended, 4 not recommended, 1 no opinion; O’Toole received 10 highly recommended, 18 recommended, 63 not recommended, 15 no opinion.

Geauga Common Pleas Court: Scott Matasar received 16 highly recommended, 27 recommended, 33 not recommended, 30 no opinion, Forrest W. Burt received 54 highly recommended, 32 recommended, 16 not recommended, 4 no opinion.

Geauga Probate/Juvenile Court: Timothy J. Grendell received 52 highly recommended, 32 recommended, 17 not recommended, 6 no opinion; Timothy H. Synder received 8 highly recommended, 15 recommended, 55 not recommended, 28 no opinion.

Fundies

n Ron Young, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 61, hosts wine tasting from Wine Sommelier and Spirit Expert Gene Segal of South River Vinyards, 6 to 8 p.m. Monday at Quail Hollow Country Club. See Young.

n Fundraiser for Nancy McArthur, candidate for Ohio Senate District 32, with special guest Jo Ann Davidson, former Ohio House of Representatives speaker, 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, at Sharon James Cellars in Newbury. See McArthur.

n Fall clambake for John Rogers, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 60, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Mentor Beach Park in Mentor-on-the-Lake. See Rogers or John Crocker.

n Lori DiNallo, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 60, hosts a clambake 6:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at Benny Vino Urban Winery in Perry Village. See Jan Clair.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah

Lake County was in the national spotlight again last week when the CBS Evening News came to the area to do a story about how the county traditionally has been a bellwether for Ohio’s vote for the presidential election.

The segment was timed to go along with the release of a Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll.

Prior to the poll’s release on Wednesday most national polls showed the race for president in Ohio between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney was tight, with no front runner.

With Ohio still in play as a swing state, the CBS Evening News crew called and later stopped by The News-Herald to interview me to gauge what I believe are some of the issues important to Lake County voters and how the presidential race was playing out locally.

I spent a good 20 to 25 minutes doing an on-camera interview with CBS Correspondent Dean Reynolds, who peppered me with all kinds of questions that I did my best to answer.

We talked about how the county is a blend of urban, suburban and rural lifestyles and beliefs; how population represents a lot of what makes up Ohio and has been noted by other news organizations as the county that most closely reflects how the state as a whole votes.

Obama won Lake County in 2008, while President George W. Bush carried the county in 2004 and 2000.

As a journalist, it was a great experience to see how a national news crew operated. I was both excited and nervous as I waited for the segment to air Wednesday.

Of course, when I finally watched the program I wasn’t included, much to my disappointment. Those are the breaks.

The segment revealed the poll showed Obama with a 10-point lead over Romney in Ohio. So I’m guessing a lot of what we talked about during the interview probably became irrelevant and the show’s producers took the segment into a different direction, leaving me out.

I can understand that. Hey, I’m in the news business, and I know stories can change very quickly.

Of course, it’s only one poll and people are welcome to cast doubt over its validity.

But I will say that a lot can change during the next five weeks or so, such as country’s and state’s unemployment rates could dramatically change. Plus, the candidates will have a chance to make a final impression during a series of debates.

So with voting for the Nov. 6 election starting Tuesday, make sure you take the time to discover which candidates reflect what you believe and then cast your ballot. Don’t let others make these decisions for you when you fail to vote.

 

State Bar Association releases ratings

The Ohio State Bar Association’s Commission on Judicial Candidates released its ratings for Ohio Supreme Court candidates.

Receiving ratings of highly recommended were Justices Yvette McGee Brown and Robert R. Cupp. Justices Terrence O’Donnell, William O’Neill and Michael J. Skindell received ratings of recommended. Judge Sharon Kennedy received a rating of not recommended.

The Bar Association’s evaluation process rated each candidate individually according to the Commission’s eight criteria. A rating of highly recommended was awarded to any candidate who received favorable votes from at least 70 percent of the 25-member panel. Sixty percent of favorable votes from the panel earned a rating of recommended, while anything below 60 percent received the not recommended rating.

 

Candidate forum

A Meet The Candidates forum for Lake County candidates will be held today at 1 p.m. in the Father Kline Social Center of Saint John Vianney Parish and will be moderated by a League of Women’s Voters representative.

 

Fundies

n  Lake County Commissioner Daniel P. Troy hosts his Fall Classic and Clam Bake, 12:30 p.m. shotgun start, 5 p.m. dinner Monday at Lost Nation Municipal Golf Course in Willoughby. See Troy or Kip Molenaar.

n Werner Barthol, candidate for Lake County prosecutor, hosting Oktoberfest 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday at Lake Metroparks Painesville Township Park Community Center/Ballroom. See Kelly Barthol or James Falvey.

n Ron Young, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 61, hosts wine tasting from Wine Sommelier and Spirit Expert Gene Segal of South River Vinyards, 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 8 at Quail Hollow Country Club. See Young.

n Fall clambake for John Rogers, candidate for Ohio House of Representatives District 60, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 11 at Mentor Beach Park in Mentor-on-the-Lake. See Rogers or John Crocker.

John Arthur Hutchison

JHutchison@News-Herald.com

Twitter: @newsheraldjah