UPDATE 1/3 5:12 p.m.
For Republicans, the search for a judge to fill the vacant seat in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas is well underway.
Though the governor’s office requests three official nominations, two people have already expressed interest in the appointment and are currently in the process of filling out paperwork, said Pete Couladis, chairman of the Athens County Republican Party.
The nominations won’t be official, though, until the party’s executive committee votes on the matter in two weeks, Couladis said.
“We’ll discuss the appointment process at our regularly scheduled meeting next Tuesday,” he said. “Then we’ll set up a meeting for the follow week to submit the names officially.”
Couladis said that he is looking for candidates who are willing to work hard not only in the courtroom, but on the campaign trail as well.
“They’re going to be busy not only doing work, but organizing a campaign (in 2014) and meeting people around the county in places they aren’t necessarily familiar with,” he said.
UPDATE 1/3 2:50 p.m.
For the time being, Ward will fill his own vacancy.
Upon his retirement, Ward expressed interest in filling-in for the court of common pleas until his replacement is named.
“When judges retire, they can make themselves available to be assigned to courts on a temporary basis," he said. "I told the Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor that I would be open to filling my own vacancy."
The practice of assigning retired judges to the vacancies they created is common in Ohio, said Chris Davey, Director of Public Information for the Ohio State Supreme Court
“It is quite common for this to occur because courts find that during vacancies created by a retiring judge, that judge is a perfect candidate to fill that role because they will keep the docket moving forward,” Davey said. “It has been done in over a dozen counties in the state this year.
Ward will being serving a three-month term and will receive the same hourly wage –– $60.68 –– that a fulltime common pleas court judge receives.
In addition to receiving the same pay as a fulltime judge, Ward will have the same judicial power he has had for the last 20 years, Davey said.
“(Ward) is going to hear cases, sit on the bench and dispose of those cases with full judicial authority,” he said.
Starting New Year's Day, the governor’s office began filling judicial vacancies around the state –– including one in Athens County.
After serving as Athens County Common Pleas judge for 20 years, Michael Ward, 66, retired Monday, creating a vacancy that isn’t expected to be filled for at least a month.
Ward said he is just one of many judges around the state who are retiring now because of new legislation that alters the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System.
Currently, retired public employees receive a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment to their pension every 12 months; however, the new legislation replaces the yearly adjustment with an annual pension increase reflecting change in CPI that cannot exceed 3 percent.
Ward said that because he has been a public employee most of his life, it makes sense for him to retire now before the change takes effect Jan. 7.
“I’ve had 41 years of public service that hasn’t been limited to serving as a judge,” he said. “This includes service in the Army, serving as an assistant prosecuting attorney, being a public aide and serving as prosecuting attorney after I was elected in 1980.”
Ward isn’t the only Ohio judge who is retiring because of these changes to the retirement system, said Megan Fitzmartin, Deputy Director of Boards and Commissions at the governor’s office, who added that the number of retirees is higher than usual as a result.
“Right now there are 15 to 20 judicial vacancies statewide,” she said. “The change made to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System is a contributing factor to this number.”
The appointment process might be lengthy because there are more vacancies than usual, Fitzmartin said.
“Although we want to get through (the appointments) quickly, we do want to take the time to get great replacements to fill all these vacancies,” she said.
The length of the appointment process also depends upon how quickly nominees are submitted by the retiree’s local party, Fitzmartin said.
The Athens County Republican Party Central and Executive Committees must submit three nominees to the governor’s office for review. Once the candidates are interviewed, Governor John Kasich will make the official appointment.
Athens County Republicans will have a meeting Jan. 8 and although nominees probably won’t be named at that time, the appointment process will be discussed, said Debbie Quivey, chair of the party’s central committee.
sh335311@ohiou.edu
