Two running in Democratic primary for a seat on Franklin County Common Pleas Court bench

Two attorneys are facing off on the Democratic ballot in the only contested Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge race among nine available seats.

Ohio House Rep. Richard Brown, a Canal Winchester resident who is not seeking reelection to his 5th House District seat, and Stephanie Hanna, of Dublin, are competing to replace county Common Pleas Court Judge Dan Hawkins, who is running for Ohio Supreme Court justice.

Whoever wins between Brown and Hanna will face no opposition in the general election as no Republicans filed to run for county judge this year. Eight incumbent Democrats are running for reelection to the Common Pleas Court unopposed.

Both Brown and Hanna have previously run for judge in the county and lost.

Hanna ran as a Republican twice: in 2016 for the Common Pleas Court General Division and again in 2020 for the Common Pleas Court Domestic Relations and Juvenile Division.

Several judges have switched parties from Republican to Democrat in recent years as Franklin County has become a Democratic stronghold that makes it more difficult to win as a Republican. With Hawkins' departure, there will be only one Republican left on the county Common Pleas Court out of 24 judges.

Hanna said when she was first recruited to run for judge more than a decade ago, she was working for a Republican judge. She said party labels do not define her.

Brown ran in 2008 for the Ohio 10th District Court of Appeals (which covers Franklin County and most matters involving the state of Ohio), back when the county was still Republican dominated.

Brown may be best known among Columbus voters as the state representative for Ohio's 5th House District since he was appointed in 2017. Brown was reelected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He could have sought reelection and won one more term this year before he would have been term-limited by state law, but the 67-year-old said he wanted to run for judge while there's an opening and he still can.

Ohio's age limits on judges mean candidates cannot run if they would be 70 or older when they take office.

The Franklin County Democratic Party Executive Committee voted to endorse Brown last month for judge after Hanna called on the committee not to endorse before the primary.

Whoever wins will join other Common Pleas Court judges dealing with a backlog of cases left from the COVID-19 pandemic, including a portion of the approximately 250 homicide cases on the county dockets. Here's what the candidates said in interviews with The Dispatch.

Richard Brown

Brown said many voters may not realize he has practiced as an attorney for 42 years, including part-time while serving in the General Assembly. He's worked predominantly in civil law, but he's also done some criminal law, including criminal appellate work.

Brown has also served as a hearing examiner for the Ohio Department of Commerce from 2009 to 2017 which he said was a role very similar to a judge during which he would hear administrative matters and arrive at decisions.

"I have practiced primarily in civil litigation which makes me perfect for this job because being a judge is handling cases in court both civil and criminal. I’ve tried lawsuits all over the state of Ohio," Brown said. "I’m as well qualified for this job, in my view, as you might find ... To me, running for judge now would be the culmination of my legal career."

Brown said that, like any good judge, he would bring "fairness, integrity, impartiality, compassion and respect" to the bench.

There is no magic formula to keep cases moving through the court, Brown said. It's about putting in the work to resolve procedural motions that hold up cases, he said, and he would do that. He said it's one of his pet peeves as a civil attorney when motions are pending for months.

Stephanie Hanna

Hanna, 40, said she has worked as an attorney for 15 years, mostly in public service. Since 2022, she has worked as a staff attorney for Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Brown, her opponent in the 2016 race. She helps manage the judge's civil docket and draft decisions.

Hanna has also worked as a criminal defense attorney, civil litigator and an assistant city prosecutor in Tiffin, Seneca County, in northwest Ohio.

"I can offer Franklin County something different. Less than a third of Ohio’s judges are women, and I want to change that. I also want to be the first Egyptian American judge in Franklin County (and only second in Ohio)," Hanna said.

Hanna said with her experience, she would be able to hit the ground running on day one to work on the backlog of cases. She also pointed out that she can serve more than one term, unlike her opponent.

Asked about her party switch from Republican to Democrat, Hanna said over the past decade she's had two kids and become more solid in her values.

"Over the last decade, labels have not defined me, whether it's supporting women-owned businesses, pride events, engaging in mental health advocacy, hosting African American and Arab American law students at my home, or serving as a PTO member and room mom at school and volunteer at church," Hanna said.

"If that’s not a Democrat I don’t know what is," she said.

According to voting records, Hanna voted in the Democratic primary between 2010 and 2012. She first voted as a Republican in 2014 and continued to vote in Republican primaries through 2021. She voted in a Democratic primary in 2022 and has voted as a Democrat since.

From 2011 to 2013, Hanna worked as a staff attorney and magistrate for Franklin County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Christopher Geer, a Republican.

Hanna said her main priority as a judge would be bringing a reentry docket to the court to help people granted early judicial release from prison reintegrate into society. She said Franklin County is the only large Ohio county without a reentry docket.

Brown criticized his opponent's advocacy for such a docket, saying there are many organizations out there already doing that admirable work. That's not a judge's role, he said.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Two competing in Democratic primary for Franklin County judge