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Randall Jedlink will be the next Washington County Municipal Court judge after receiving more than 10,000 votes in Tuesday's elections.
"It was actually a really good night for the whole party," Jedlink, a Republican, said. "It was pretty much a night of cheering."
Jedlink, who has been serving as the county's juvenile and probate magistrate for the past six years, defeated Shoshanna Brooker (I), who has been the magistrate for the Common Pleas Court for the past 11 years.
Jedlink said he was happy that both sides ran a clean campaign and that Brooker was an intelligent individual and a great attorney.
"She was a class act throughout it," Jedlink said. "She's made a great career for herself, I think she will do well going forward."
He said his own campaign was eye-opening with the amount of support he received from the community.
"I'm not just talking about the voters," Jedlink said. "I'm talking about donors, people who went door knocking, people who put up signs, the outpour of support was amazing. It's really kind of moving to see so many people believe in you, and are willing to back you publicly, because they believe in you, and believe you will be the best for the job."
Jedlink said he will now begin his transition from juvenile and probate court to municipal court by closing out his open cases, helping to train his replacement after Judge Timothy A. Williams appoints a new magistrate and then getting acquainted with his new position.
"I'm going to have to make contact with Judge (Janet Dyer) Welch and some of the staff there," Jedlink said. "Then go over, talk about how things are run, observe some things about how their day to day operations go, to make a smooth transition for the citizens and hit the ground running day one."
He said although a judge can make staff changes he doesn't see any reason to do so as the staff there is great.
"It's a pretty well run court and a big part of that is the employees," Jedlink said. "If you've got a good working machine, there's no reason to replace anything."
He said the first couple months are already scheduled so there wouldn't be a lot of changes at first, but that he does have some plans for changes later.
"There are some big picture things we've looked at with the docket, and with the schedule of the court, I know a number of attorneys don't like the way the schedule of the court works, so we'll make some changes like that," Jedlink said.
Jedlink will take the bench on Jan.1, 2024.
"We're still going to do things in the community, but at a little bit more reasonable pace," Jedlink said. "I think it's important that elected officials get out there and talk to the people that actually elected them."