Republican Judges Glaeden, McCarthy and Paat Endorsed by The Columbus Dispatch

In all three contested races for Municipal Court Judge, The Columbus Dispatch has endorsed the Republican candidate. 

Read their endorsement below:

The Franklin County Municipal Court requires judges with strong administrative, legal and people skills to manage the torrent of cases, misery and misadventure that comes before this court.

For this reason, The Dispatch endorses Judge Carrie Glaeden,Judge Sean McCarthy and Magistrate Tony Paat in the contested Nov. 3 judicial races.

All three are rated “highly recommended” by the Columbus Bar Association’s Judicial Screening Committee.

Glaeden is seeking a third term. Her experience makes her a standout choice: She was a prosecutor in the Columbus city attorney’s office, handling misdemeanor criminal and traffic cases, a former chief of Crime Victims Services for the Ohio attorney general’s office and a legal adviser for the governor and the Ohio Department of Liquor Control.

She remains passionate about her court. She is working to start a Domestic Violence Court pilot project, a specialty docket that could better ensure victims get help and more effectively deal with and protect them from their abusers.

Glaeden also plans to open an “Assisted Self-Help Civil Center” later this year to guide county residents in filing or responding to complaints and collecting judgments. Many Municipal Court cases involve small dollar amounts, making hiring attorneys impractical.

Glaeden’s opponent, Cynthia Ebner, is a bright and energetic young attorney, but voters have no reason to replace an experienced and effective judge with an untested one.

McCarthy also faces a competent opponent, Cindi Morehart, who has served as a magistrate in the Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. But McCarthy’s 15 years of experience in criminal prosecution, handling everything from aggravated murder to stolen-car cases, and his skillful performance since being appointed to the bench in July gives him the edge.

His military service also will be a plus in this chaotic court. McCarthy has served as a decorated judge advocate officer for the Ohio Army National Guard, with deployments to New Orleans and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina and to Afghanistan with the 37 {+t}{+h} Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He holds several military honors, including the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Bronze Star.

Paat is strongly preferred to his opponents for his extensive courtroom experience; he has served for more than 20 years as a magistrate in Franklin County Municipal Court, doing very much the same work as the judges — presiding over arraignments, evictions, and small claims, rent-escrow and driver’s-license suspension hearings.

Unlike his two opponents — Democrat Eileen Paley, a Columbus city councilwoman, and Green Party candidate Eddie Pfau —Paat would be the only one with practically no learning curve and the only one who already has a reputation for being a fair and professional jurist. He has served as a city prosecutor.

Paley displayed questionable judgment and ethics in accepting a junket with three other council members to the Big Ten Championship football game in Indianapolis in December. Paley accepted a perk — from former council lobbyist John Raphael, who has admitted to criminal extortion in a separate matter — not available to the public and paid a fraction of what it was worth — and then only after Raphael became the target of an investigation.

Voters can best ensure a professional and competent court by electing Glaeden, McCarthy and Paat.

​http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/editorials/2015/10/07/1-for-municipal-court.html