Candidates for Supreme Court
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Whit’s Frozen Custard had a special visitor on Friday as Ohio Justice of the Supreme Court Republican Candidate Pat DeWine, current judge on the First District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, swung by to grab some Buckeye Madness frozen custard and to talk to community members while on the campaign trail.
“I like to be super-informed on the backgrounds and stances of the candidates,” said Katie Kitchen, 18, of Marietta. “So it was really good to meet him.”
DeWine said it was nice to be back in Marietta and that he thought the community was kind and sincere.
“I love being here; the people have been very friendly and we’ve talked about the Ohio Supreme Court,” said DeWine. “Every time I go into Marietta, I am struck by how it is one of the most beautiful towns in the state…there are few towns in Ohio that are as pretty as Marietta.”
Locals at Whit’s Frozen Custard on Friday discussed what they felt was important when voting for either candidate for the Ohio Justice of the Supreme Court.
Phillis Walker, of Belpre, said she hopes that the elected candidate addresses the drug problem within the state of Ohio and Marilyn Ashcraft, 69, of Marietta, agreed, adding she hopes the new judge has more conservative values.
“I want to make sure the judge we elect is following the constitution,” she said.
Howard Kitchen, 81, of Marietta, Katie Kitchen’s grandfather, said he’s been involved in politics for years and feels that the drug issue, as well as eliminating the death penalty, is something that should be of concern to the two candidates.
“We do need a drug court,” he said. “A lot of cities have them and they work well; I’d rather see (the drug abusers) in a drug court where they can get some help.”
Both DeWine and opposing Democratic Candidate Cynthia Rice, currently Eleventh District Court of Appeals judge, addressed the drug issue in Ohio and said they feel strongly about their role in combating the problem.
“With the heroin crisis, the Supreme Court is taking an active role in dealing with that,” said Rice. “I’ve followed the changes that we’ve been implementing along the last few years in trying to address the crisis and I think we can do more.”
Rice said with her background and experience, she feels she is most qualified and plans to work with the programs in place to provide better opportunities throughout the state of Ohio.
“The biggest problem we’ve had in the courts is the lack of resources,” she said. “It’s important to make sure that we identify what specialty dockets are working well to help apply those principles throughout the entire state.”
Similarly, DeWine said he plans to focus on the drug courts and address what systems work to create a more unified approach to tackling the drug problem.
“There are a lot of drug courts,” explained DeWine. “We need to take a look at these programs and see what models work best and then we are going to work with local communities to help them apply those models so we are using the best practices across Ohio.”
DeWine also said he plans on bringing more jobs to the state by working to set a good legal system in place.
“When businesses look around the country, one of the things they look at is if they have a good legal system in place,” he explained. “If we can create that environment where people want to be here, I think that helps.”
Rice, on the other hand, addressed the need for criminal justice reform.
“I think dealing with the heroin crisis is one thing and the other thing is the criminal justice reform,” she said. “I’m currently in one of the ad hoc committees for bail reform and I’d like to continue to work with that.”
Pat DeWine
¯Age: 48.
¯City: Cincinnati.
¯Political Party: Republican.
¯Current Position: Judge on the First District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
¯Past Service:
Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge.
Hamilton County Commissioner.
Cincinnati City Councilman.
Source: Pat DeWine.
Cynthia Rice
¯Age: 58.
¯City: Brookfield.
¯Political Party: Democrat.
¯Current Position: Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge.
¯Past Service:
United States Attorney.
Special Assistant United States Attorney.
First Assistant Criminal Division at the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief Counsel, Vertical Prosecution Unit, Mahoning Valley Law Enforcement Task Force at the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
Criminal Administrator at the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
Chief Counsel, Drug Prosecution Unit at the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office.
Private Law Practice, Rice Law Offices.
District Sales Manager at the Upjohn Company.
Source: Cynthia Rice.