Nominating a candidate for Summit County Common Pleas Judge was top of the ticket at the Democratic precinct committee meeting Thursday night at North High School in Akron.
With Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas Parker taking a federal court position in Cleveland, the party decided on Joy Oldfield to run to replace him on the ticket this fall.
Oldfield, an Akron municipal judge, addressed the elephant in the room: since the last time she had asked the party to support her, she had raised an astounding $100,000, won a judgeship and was found by a Copley police officer in a car with an intoxicated woman.
The woman, an assistant public defender, had practiced in her courtroom. The appearance of impropriety — the intimacy of her relationship with a professional colleague in question — led the Ohio Supreme Court to slap her wrist in 2014.
“Yes, I received a public reprimand,” Oldfield said, addressing newspaper editorials and, less so, articles that she said have unfairly portrayed the event.
“Unfortunately, I don’t buy ink by the barrel, so I don’t get to print the truth,” Oldfield said, telling the crowd to go read the high court’s decision.
Oldfield won the party’s endorsement with nearly two-thirds of the roughly 160 voting precinct committee members.
Margaret Scott, the deputy chief assistant prosecutor for Summit County, was Oldfield’s competition for the spot.
Scott spoke to the crowd of helping candidates run successful countywide campaigns.
“I’m electable,” she said, spending three minutes covering her accomplishments.
Oldfield’s Republican challenger has yet to be picked by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, in line with how the Republican Party selects such candidates. Conservatives interested in running for the judgeship may contact the Republican Party of Summit County at 330-434-9151 to seek a local endorsement.
Earlier in the proceedings, a contentious challenge for a new party position caught the party insiders off-guard as Democrats filled their leadership slate.
Jeff Fusco, re-elected as chair, oversaw the proceedings. The party also elected Edna Borders, the wellness director for Summit County, and local attorney Tom Bevan to the first and second chair positions, respectively.
Borders beat out Akron councilwoman Tara Mosley Samples for the second chair spot, but it was the newly created third chair position that stoked animosity.
Lisa Dean, magistrate for Cuyahoga Falls Mayor’s Court, and Charles Tyler, Sr., a pastor and lawyer from Fairlawn, were nominated for the third-from-the-top position, which was almost needed after Fusco became mayor last year.
Fusco passed the responsibilities of chair to former county councilwoman Tamela Lee, who refused the duty while awaiting an indictment on charges of corruption. The chair then passed to Sandra Kurt, the next in line.
Kurt didn’t seek her second chair position Thursday night.
With the first and second chairs exhausted in the mayoral shuffle last year, party leadership created the third chair to avoid the unusual event of lacking a leader.
Tyler gave a riveting speech but was questioned immediately before the vote. A voting precinct committee member asked if Tyler served as treasurer for former mayoral candidate Eddie Sipplen, a Republican who lost to Dan Horrigan last fall.
Tyler bristled at the accusation, enraged that no other nominee had been questioned. It was because of his race, he said.
“I came here tonight as an African-American trying to keep your base,” Tyler, 41, told the party. “No other candidate was asked any question tonight.”
Sipplen, who was in the crowd and said he was there as an observer, confirmed afterward that Tyler had served as his campaign treasurer.
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com.