Seven Republicans seek three seats on 5th District Court of Appeals bench
A trio of seats on the 5th District Court of Appeals will likely be filled in this primary election, exclusively by Republican voters.
Early results in the three 15-county GOP races ― which includes ballots cast by mail or in-person prior to election day in every county except Fairfield ― show:
Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley (56.9 percent) on top of sitting 5th District Judge Patricia Delane (43.1 percent)
Stark County Probate Judge Dixie Park (50.7 percent) locked in a battle with Kevin Popham, an attorney from Powell, in Delaware County (49.3 percent).
Former Franklin County Probate Judge Robert Montgomery of Blue Rock, in Muskingum County (54.9 percent), with a big advantage on 5th District mediation attorney Aletha Carver, of Hills and Dales (31.9 percent) and Jeff Furr, a veteran attorney from Utica, in Knox County (13.2 percent).
No one filed to run as a Democrat or without party affiliation. That means GOP primary winners are virtually assured six-year terms, beginning on staggered dates in 2025.
Delaney seeks her fourth straight election win. However, she'd run as a Democrat in the past. This time, she's on the Republican side, a switch that hasn't well with some GOP party leaders.
The 5th District covers these counties: Stark, Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Fairfield, Guernsey, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Perry, Richland and Tuscarawas.
It's home to six judges who sit on three-judge panels. Much of their work is in ruling if an error was made in a case heard by judges from lower-level courts, such as common pleas or municipal.
Judges in the dozen such appeals courts in Ohio will be paid a salary of $178,108 next year.
While Delaney wants to keep her seat, the other two contests will produce replacements for two longtime 5th Distrcit judges who are retiring.
The Park-Popham winner will take over for Judge Scott Gwin, who's leaving after 36 years. The Carver-Montgomery-Furr victor is in line to fill John Wise's seat; he's exiting after 30 years.
Check back for updates.
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 or tim.botos@cantonrep.com.On X: @tbotosREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: 5th District Court of Appeals election results in Ohio
