Women are underrepresented among Summit County’s mayors and on city councils compared to the 51 percent they claim of the county’s population.
That’s not the case, however, when it comes to the bench. There, girls rule.
Women now hold 21 of the 30 elected judicial seats in Summit County, or 70 percent. By comparison, Ohio’s judicial gender makeup is the exact opposite, with men in 70 percent of the judge spots. Summit and Cuyahoga are the only of the state’s eight largest counties in which there are more female than male judges, with women enjoying a larger majority in Summit, according to the Ohio Supreme Court.
“We talk a lot about glass ceilings in politics,” said John Green, who heads the University of Akron’s Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. “Women in Summit County have certainly broken the glass ceiling when it comes to judicial politics.”
The representation of women on the bench is among the topics being discussed at a two-day seminar at the University of Akron Law School on Thursday and Friday, with one session featuring two of Summit County’s female judges.
The female edge isn’t expected to slip in Summit County anytime soon, with more women than men running for judge in the Nov. 8 election. In fact, the only two unopposed judicial candidates are women.
The reasons for the female supermajority include efforts by women to get more females to run, a shift by party leaders who realized women could win and a preference by voters for female judicial candidates.
Many see the trend as a big step for a county where female attorneys once were asked why they weren’t home minding their children.
“They never should have let us vote,” joked Summit County Common Pleas Judge Lynne Callahan, who has been a judge for 19 years and is now running unopposed for an open 9th District Court of Appeals seat.
Female trailblazers
Judy Nicely became an attorney in 1977 when her youngest child started school — and didn’t find herself welcomed by Summit County’s then male-dominated bar.
“I can tell you they did not think it was a very good idea,” she said. “They wanted to know why I wasn’t at home watching my children. It was very paternal.”
In the early days of Nicely’s law practice, male judges were making headlines, and not for positive reasons. This included the late Judge James Barbuto, who was convicted in 1980 of gross sexual imposition for attacking a female courthouse clerk and intimidating sheriff’s deputies investigating him. He served 78 days in prison.
Nicely and several other local female attorneys, including Judy Hunter, decided it was time for more women to run for judge.
Nicely went head-to-head against Hunter in 1990 for domestic relations judge to replace a male judge who was retiring. This guaranteed that a woman would lead the court, which only had one judge seat at the time.
Nicely beat Hunter, who later was elected juvenile court judge and then to the common pleas bench. A steady stream of female judges joined them in the county’s courts. Nicely retired in 2003, but served as a visiting judge for 12 years.
Akron Municipal Court Judge Kathryn Michael, once a law clerk for Nicely, credits the early women judges — both Democrats and Republicans — for the female gains on the bench.
“They made it a concerted effort to promote and support female judges,” said Michael, who was elected judge in 2005. “They got the attention of the political parties … That’s what started the trend.”
Later female judges continued the effort of mentoring women. Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, elected to Akron Municipal Court in 1991 and later to Common Pleas and Probate Court, held training sessions with Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro in the late 2000s to assist women considering running for judge or other elected offices.
Party support
When Saundra Robinson, a Democrat, beat John Vuillemin, an incumbent Republican, for Summit County Juvenile Court judge in 1990, this was a wake up call for the county GOP.
“Any man who wants to run for judge better put his track shoes on,” longtime county GOP Chairman Alex Arshinkoff is remembered for saying at the time. “We’re only recruiting women.”
Arshinkoff followed through with his promise, with the party recruiting and appointing numerous female candidates.
Though judicial races in Ohio are considered nonpartisan, the political parties are integrally involved in choosing candidates to run and to fill vacancies. When a judicial seat becomes open, the governor appoints the replacement, with recommendations from the local party. With a Republican governor in office for most of the past quarter century, the Summit County GOP has had lots of opportunities to appoint judges.
“It is easier to recruit competitive, qualified female candidates than it is to recruit qualified, interested, aggressive male candidates,” said Bryan Williams, the county GOP’s Executive Committee chairman. “Part of the reason might be that men recognize women have a vote-getting advantage. They may demure away from an invitation to be a candidate.”
Arshinkoff told Callahan when she first ran for judge in the late 1990s that female judicial candidates had an 8-point advantage over men. Williams said women now generally enjoy a 5-point advantage.
Of course, other factors also determine whether a judicial candidate will be successful, such as whether an incumbent holds the seat and, if someone was appointed to the spot, how long she or he has held it.
Stormer said female judicial candidates usually beat appointed male judges, male candidates don’t beat appointed male judges and female candidates aren’t successful against appointed women.
Stormer said the local Democratic Party, which hasn’t had the advantage of the party controlling the governor’s office, has been successful in electing female judges when seats are open, such as from a judge retiring.
Jeff Fusco, Summit County’s Democratic Party chairman, thinks voters are supporting more female candidates for all offices.
“It’s about time,” he said.
Other views
UA’s Green has another theory about why voters may prefer female judges.
“It is the job of judges in municipal and county court to discipline people,” he said. “People in this area, and perhaps in other parts of the country, feel comfortable being disciplined by women. After all, that’s what their mothers did.”
Green said, however, that a familiar name may be even more important than gender in a judicial race in which voters may not know much about the candidate. He said Irish and English names do well, pointing to Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor, a Summit County native, as an example.
Callahan, whose husband, Mike, is a former county prosecutor and judge, credits her familiar name with her success.
“I have always acknowledged the fact that name played a role in me getting on the bench,” she said. “I’d like to think I have made my own way since then.”
Akron Municipal Court Judge Jon Oldham, who lost two judge races — one to a woman and another to a man before beating a male candidate — said he thinks voters give more weight to experience than gender. He sees gender diversity as a positive.
“Voters are the ones who determine who is elected,” he said. “They’ve chosen more women then men for the current bench. I’m sure that will fluctuate.”
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj .