You’ve been hearing about the presidential election for two years. You’ve probably heard plenty about the U.S. Senate race too (although we urge you not to fall for the glut of attack ads aimed at Ted Strickland by big-money groups).
But when you get your ballot, you’re going to find that most of it is filled with names unfamiliar to most voters: judges and candidates for judicial seats. County Common Pleas Court. Appeals Court. State Supreme Court. Who ARE all these people with Irish names???
It used to bother me that so many people just stopped voting when they got to this part of the ballot, but I’ve come to feel that if you don’t know who they are, it’s better not to vote than to just vote for every Gallagher and O’Whoever you see. But it’s better still to find out a little more about these people who have a lot of influence over our local communities.
For a start, you’ll find that many races have only one person running, which isn’t as bad as it seems. If a judge is capable and doing a good job, there’s no reason to want them out of office. Most of the one-name-only races in Cuyahoga County are Democrats but occasionally a Republican won’t be challenged. That’s the case with the widely respected and well-liked Dick Ambrose (don’t hold it against him that he is a former Cleveland Brown), who is a Republican.
But what to do about the handful of races that ARE contested — there are eight this November?
There is a tool in Cuyahoga County called Judge4Yourself.com, a website that is a collaboration of four bar associations in the county. The candidates in each of the contested races is interviewed and each association rates him or her independently; their ratings are then posted with an aggregate score from 0-4.
In addition, each judge in these races is asked to submit a bio, which you can peruse to learn where they went to law school, how long they’ve been practicing, what types of law they’ve practiced, and what charitable or community organizations they’ve been active in.
There have been critics of Judge 4 Yourself who feel that the bar associations often have an agenda or take an unfair dislike to certain candidates. Using it as guide is better than using nothing except names. But for those who really want to vote responsibly I suggest using it only as a guideline and visiting the judges’ websites to learn more. If you’ve really got the time and interest, attend a candidates’ forum. You can learn a lot from how a candidate presents themselves.
Some races are pretty clear. If one candidate is rated 0 by every bar association and the other is rated 4 by every one (as is the case in the domestic relations courts race between Diane Palos, rated “excellent,” and her opponent Donna Coury, rated “not recommended”), you’re pretty safe going by their recommendations. But if one candidate gets a 4 and the other gets a 3.6 (the case in both Supreme Court races), or one is rated 3.25 and the other is rated 3, you might want to get more information — or vote by party if that matters to you.
In the case of Supreme Court races, it probably should since it deals with issues that often involve policy. In the case of county races — common pleas, domestic court — it matters less because the civil and criminal matters they deal with rarely have an ideological angle. Both major parties have sample ballots with their candidates’ names.
You can find the Judge4Yourself ratings in those eight races here.