Bar Association releases poll results on judge candidates

The Judicial Selection and Endorsement Committee of the Lake County Bar Association has released the results of a recent poll of its membership on which judicial candidates are qualified to hold office.

The following candidates were endorsed as “highly recommended” by the Bar:

• Jeffrey H. Black, Republican Lake County Common Pleas Court judicial candidate for term commencing Jan. 1, received 128 total votes, of which 166 were affirmative votes.

He received a 90 percent favorable vote.

• Charles F. Cichocki, Democratic Lake County Common Pleas Court candidate for term commencing Jan. 1, received 107 total votes, of which 94 were affirmative votes. He received an 87 percent favorable vote.

• Patrick J. Condon, Republican Lake County Common Pleas Court judge candidate for term commencing Jan. 1, received 118 total votes, of which 112 were affirmative votes. He received a 94 percent favorable vote.

• Vincent A. Culotta, a Republican who is running unopposed for Lake County Common Pleas Court term commencing Jan. 3, received 145 total votes, of which 143 were affirmative votes. He received a 98 percent favorable vote.

• Michael P. Donnelly, a Democrat running for the Ohio Supreme Court term commencing Jan. 1, received 80 total votes, of which 75 were affirmative votes. He received a 93 percent favorable vote.

• Darya J. Klammer, Democratic write-in candidate for 11th District Court of Appeals term commencing Feb. 9, received 130 total votes, of which 115 were affirmative votes. She received an 88 percent favorable vote.

• Eugene A. Lucci, a Republican who is running unopposed for the Lake County Common Pleas Court term commencing Jan. 6, received 146 total votes, of which 143 were affirmative votes. He received a 97 percent favorable vote.

• Paul E. Miller, Democratic

candidate for Lake County Common Pleas Court term commencing Jan. 1, received 117 total votes, of which 112 were affirmative votes. He received a 95 percent favorable vote.

• Mary Jane Trapp, Democratic candidate for the 11th District Court of Appeals term commencing Feb. 10, received 142 total votes, of which 137 were affirmative votes. She received a 96 percent favorable

vote.

Dennis N. LoConti, a Democrat running for the Lake County Common Pleas Court commencing Jan. 1, was deemed “recommended” by the Bar. LoConti received 80 total votes, of which 50 were affirmative votes. He received a 63 percent favorable vote.

Two Republican candidates for the 11th District’s term commencing Feb. 9 were “not recommended” by the Bar:

• Matt Lynch received 85 total votes, of which 22 were affirmative votes. He received a 25 percent favorable vote.

• Colleen Mary O’Toole received 129 total votes, of which 59 were affirmative votes. She received a 45 percent favorable vote.

The rules of the Lake County Bar Association Judicial Selection and Endorsement Committee provide that any candidate who receives a favorable vote of more than 85 percent shall be deemed to receive the endorsement of the association as “Highly Recommended.” Any candidate who receives a favorable vote between 60 percent to less than 85 percent shall be deemed to receive the endorsement of the association as “Recommended.” Any candidate who receives a favorable vote of less than 60 percent shall be deemed “Not Recommended” by the Lake County Bar Association.

In addition, the rules provide that the association should not express an opinion as to the qualifications of a particular judicial candidate unless more than 50 percent of the qualified ballots voted indicate a yes or no vote for such candidates. The following candidates did not receive a more than 50 percent of the qualified ballots cast indicating their respective qualifications for office. Therefore, the Lake County Bar Association does not express an opinion as to the qualifications of the following candidates:

• Craig Baldwin, Republican Ohio Supreme Court candidate for the term commencing Jan. 1.

• Mary DeGenaro, Republican Ohio Supreme Court candidate for the term commencing Feb. 10.

• Michael L. DeLeone, Republican Lake County Common Pleas Court candidate for the term commencing Jan. 1.

• Casey P. O’Brien, Republican candidate for the 11th District’s term commencing Feb. 10.

• Melody J. Stewart, Democratic candidate for the Ohio Supreme Court’s term commencing Feb. 10.

The following judicial candidates were endorsed as “highly recommended” by the Lake County Bar Association: Jeffrey H. Black, top left, Charles F. Cichocki, Patrick J. Condon, Vincent A. Culotta, Michael P. Donnelly, not pictured, Darya J. Klammer,...